Puzzle Hunt Precure
by Sana Jisushi
Summary: Fanseries. A Precure from another world, separated from her sister and partner and sent to the human world, needs to find new partners, search for her sister, and prevent the invaders from encroaching on Earth too... but is there more to this? Is everything just a big puzzle that needs to be solved?
1. The Metamasters Appear! Precure on Earth

The Eight Queens' Lands. The core of a world with bright skies and beautiful expanses of flowers, mazelike cities and castles with secret rooms. True to the name, there were eight lands, each ruled by one of the Eight Queens: Aqua, Electra, Azar, Nanami, Calixa, Gri, Shyama, and Bianca. Yet while the queens and their lands were ostensibly at peace, each had her eye on the lands held by the others, and so it was an uneasy rest.

Since the Metamasters came, it had been a different story.

A small, pink rail car rattled down a guarded monorail track above the expanse of trees and flowers. When the rail car stopped and the doors opened, two girls exited to a high platform. They looked close in age, with the same marine blue hair, bright blue eyes, and coin brown skin, though one had short hair and a formal blue dress on, while the other had a long high ponytail and was wearing a sparkling yellow gown. The first of the two stepped forward in her blue dress, looking up at the sky.

"It doesn't get less exciting, does it?"

The other, slightly older, gave a smile. "Of course." She turned back at the closing doors. "Are you coming, Nono?"

A white fluffy creature with yellow ears and a shiny collar leapt out of the car before the doors shut. She tumbled to the ground, sprung up, and jumped up on her shoulder. "I'm here, Miu, you see!"

Miu petted Nono, who nuzzled into her touch. "All right. Rei, let's go. Queen Bianca is waiting."

Sparkling in front of them was a white bridge with an ornamental fence on each side reaching two storeys – not nearly as high as a Precure could jump, but then, not everyone was a Precure. At the other end, they approached a woman in a glittering black and white dress with high-piled white hair. Her eyes were a narrow dark violet. Miu said that it always looked like she was thinking seriously, but it couldn't be helped. She had to. She gave a small wave and the guards beside her nodded solemnly.

"There you are. Everything's ready for the meeting."

They curtseyed to her, even Nono, who jumped off of Miu's shoulder for the ease of everyone.

"Queen Bianca," Miu greeted. "Are we going to be granting the Pre-Cubes to Queen Shyama herself, or did she choose her own Precure yet?"

"We'll get to that later," the Queen said, ushering them in. "I want to be there when she chooses. After all, the Pre-Cubes are still ours. There's just this mess with the Metamasters to deal with." She lightly pushed them forward down the hallway. "Go ahead! I've got business to attend to, but you two can get down to the east courtyard. You know the way by now."

They thanked her and obliged. Once the queen was out of sight and earshot, Miu shook her head and gave a small sigh.

"She must be busy again," she said, raising an arm to block the light from the large stained glass windows. "Her majesty really seems to be dedicated to fighting the Metamaster invasion. She'd never entrust her Pre-Cubes to another land's queen otherwise."

Rei looked up at the dancing light. The pictures on the glass made a checkered pattern with some sort of bridges connecting them, leaving two of the corners empty.

"Do you think we'll actually be needed?" she asked.

"Maybe." Miu gave a smile. "But if the Metamasters do attack Queen Bianca's castle, we'll take care of them in no time. We've always won before. That's the benefit of having two Precure who are sisters. We already work well together. Don't we, Nono?"

"Absolutely, you see." Nono's ears twitched. "Precure who fit together work best, and Queen Bianca's Precure are the strongest and most capable of any of the Queens', you see!"

Rei relaxed a bit at that. "That's true. I don't think I could do this with anyone else."

* * *

><p>Puzzle Hunt Precure<p>

Episode 1: "The Metamasters Appear! Precure Come to Earth!"

* * *

><p>They made their way down and opened the door to the east courtyard. The decorative array of flowers was almost like a maze, leading up to the large centrepiece, a topiary of a chess board standing up with dark and bright squares. Underneath stood another fairy like Nono, but with downward-pointing blue ears. It - he? She? They? blinked up from the gleaming puzzle cubes they were guarding and flailed a little.<p>

"Y-you're the real Precure, I think!" The fairy bowed and rolled up their little paws, breathing in and out to calm down. "My name is Edel! It's nice to meet you, I think!"

Nono hopped off of Miu's shoulder and walked over with a happy wave. "Hello! I'm Nono, the Precure's fairy, and these are them, you see!"

Miu stepped forward. "I'm Takaraike Miu, and this is my younger sister, Rei. So those are the Pre-Cubes we'll be giving to Queen Shyama?"

"Not exactly," rang another voice behind them.

Miu and Rei spun around, hands immediately going to the Pre-Cubes clipped to their waists. In front of them stood a young blond man who must have been a few years older. He wore a strange but simple uniform - dress shoes and dress pants with a red hooded cape and a baggy black shirt emblazoned with a red maze design, and everything linked together with gold rings. He crossed his arms and threw back his head to toss his spiked hair back.

"Stile." Miu gritted her teeth.

"This is Queen Bianca's castle! It's guarded!" Rei glared up. "How did you Metamasters get into the east courtyard?"

"How indeed?" He raised an eyebrow and looked past them. "Three Pre-Cubes, huh… I'm not sure why we need to take these, but hey, Lady Cryptalla's orders." Out of his sleeve, he drew a small silver ball that quickly flashed writing they couldn't read. He leapt up and tossed it down at the giant topiary. "Go, Hanjir!"

The chessboard topiary absorbed the ball and took on a deep, pulsing glow before it started to change, shifting and growing. When the glow broke off in a sharp flash, it was now taller, with arms and legs sticking out and eyes and a mouth on the top. It wasn't a topiary anymore, save for some leaves still around the edges. The sides were now a solid frame, the squares on the board now tiles wiggling from their sliding spots, with one corner empty. The tiles were numbered, one to fifteen, in a disorderly jumble.

"Oh, no!" Edel covered their head and quivered. "It's a real Hanjir, I think!"

"A fifteen puzzle…" Miu unlatched her Pre-Cube from her waist and looked over at Rei, who did the same. "We can handle this!"

Rei took a deep breath and nodded. "Absolutely!"

The two of them brought their Pre-Cubes out - one blue, one yellow - and put one hand on each side.

"Link! Precure Solution!"

They twisted the two sides of their Pre-Cubes and popped them open in unison. What came next was a simple and quick flash of light on the outside, but to them, they'd entered a bright pastel void of yellow and blue with sparkles flying past. The two of them faced each other and let the pieces of their Pre-Cubes float apart, revealing a two-piece brooch in each: a blue circle for Rei and a yellow keyhole shape for Miu. They took the jewels and pulled apart the two pieces, breaking the shapes in half, not even noticing that their clothes had become simple white dresses giving off light. Rei snapped the right half of her circle into the left half of Miu's yellow symbol, and Miu did the same. They then took their new mixed-together brooches and pinned them on their chests. Light burst out of them and the girls floated and twirled through the void, their dresses being replaced by sleeveless dresses with wrap-like flaring skirts and shorts underneath. Three bows appeared under each brooch. Rei flew past, petal sleeves attaching to the dress by her shoulders, boots appearing with round jewels on the front, and petal-like wristbands on her wrists. Her hair got a brighter blue and flared out, and when her eyes opened, they were green instead of blue. Miu burst in and her hair grew out, longer and curled at the ends, the same blue that Rei's was now. She crossed her hands over for the fingerless gloves to appear, clicked her heels for the high boots with keyhole-shaped jewels, and swept her arms out for the puffed sleeves. The two of them opened their eyes and smiled at each other, with jewels in their symbol and colour appearing in their hair - Rei's as a clip, Miu's as a ponytail holder - and sashes around their waists. Their Pre-Cubes clipped back together, slid back into their pouches, and attached around their sashes.

The flash of light ended for the outside, and the duo, the Precure, posed between the monster and the enemy who created it.

"Securing the future!" Miu clapped her hands together, brushed them past each other, and made an X with her arms. "Cure Lock!"

"A secret protector!" Rei hid half of her face with one hand, then swept it out to the side. "Cure Cipher!"

"Bringing your problem to its solution!" They spoke and moved in unison, linking inner hands and pointing outwards with the others. "Puzzle Hunt Precure!"

Stile jumped up on top of a railing and crouched, looking down at the Precure from above. "Heh. You have fun with that. Try solving this one!"

The Hanjir lumbered forward and lunged, tilting its flat surface. Its fist smashed into a planter, scattering dirt and flowers everywhere.

"This is terrible, I think!" Edel scrambled to gather the three Pre-Cubes into a bag. "He's going to take them, I think!"

The Hanjir took a ground-cracking step and toppled forward. Before it could crush them, Lock leapt and kicked the monster back hard enough that it whipped backwards and nearly fell over the other way. The tile she kicked slid into the empty space with an audible click.

"Nono! Get Edel someplace safe!" She turned her attention to her sister. "If you can keep the Hanjir down long enough for me to solve it and get the Clue Key, we might be able to get Stile out of the way, too."

"Leave it to me!" Cipher ran up to the monster and began to punch it rapidly. When it swung at her, she jumped up at it and kicked with one leg, then the other, then the first again, climbing up the Hanjir as she started to bring it down. With one final two-leg kick, she sprung off the unbalanced Hanjir into a backflip and shot her hands out.

"Precure!" Squiggles of illegible old code appeared in light in front of her and made rings around her hands. "Cipher Encrypt!" The light shot out as beams at the enemy, which toppled over, crushing a flower bed. Cure Cipher landed on her feet, standing in the blue mist left behind after her attack. "I'll knock it back down whenever it starts to get up!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Cure Lock cut through the mist and jump-kicked the Hanjir deeper into the ground. She scanned the arrangement of the tiles and smirked. Running up to tile thirteen above the empty space, she knelt and pushed it down. Then three beside it went in its spot. Then four in its. Always get the top row in order first, Miu had always said. She always solved. Rei? Rei fought.

"Leaving your sister to do the work again, huh?" Stile's voice came from behind Cipher.

She spun around and swung a punch that he dodged. He blocked the next one and threw one at her that she similarly deflected. Cipher's heels dug into the soft ground as she started trading blows and pushing him back.

"This is work, too!" She ducked a punch and dealt an uppercut in return that sent him flying back. "You should know that!"

"Cipher!" Lock called out, trying to stay on the rising Hanjir. "A little help here!"

"Okay!" The blue Precure abandoned her opponent and dashed back to the monster. She sprung onto its surface and punched it hard enough to press it into the dirt.

"Cover me! Move the ten to where the seven was!" Lock jumped high enough to make another aerial attack like Cipher had before. She clasped her hands and points of light appeared around her. "Precure Lock Engage!" They flew down like needles, puncturing the edges of the puzzle. Watching to not land on Cipher, she cried out and aimed a landing kick right between the Hanjir's eyes. The next tile slid right into its place.

Out of their sight, a figure looked on from behind a pillar.

"Good going!" Cipher beamed. "Just a few moves left, right?"

"Almost!" Lock got up and ran over to slide the next one. "Nono, the thirteen!"

Nono had run over on her stubby little legs and clambered up onto the fallen Hanjir. "Ah, into its place, you see!" She tumbled over and shoved it as hard as she could while Lock analyzed the board and Cipher attacked the Hanjir whenever it started to move.

"I kind of feel sorry for it." Stile shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, where'd that fairy with the Pre-Cubes go?"

"Gak!" Edel bolted from their hiding place in the ruined planter, dragging the bag behind them. "Not here, I think!"

"Gotcha." Stile dashed towards Edel and lunged.

Cipher spared Lock a quick glance. No need. Lock herself kicked a tile into place and sprinted to the edge of the Hanjir, planted a hand on it, and used that to push herself at Stile, landing a flying kick that sent them both rolling in a dirty heap. Edel froze for a split second, gaped, and flailed a little.

"Th-thank you, Precure! But the Hanjir, I think-!"

"Don't worry!" Cure Lock picked herself up. "Cipher! Take it from here, there's one move left!"

"Ah- right!" Cure Cipher nodded and turned back to the puzzle. "Uh, um… there!" She ran over to the fifteen tile, knelt down, and clicked it into place.

The monster glowed. Cipher and Nono dropped off its side and Lock whisked over to them. Its shape turned to light and started to fluctuate, then it shrank and popped. The original topiary appeared where it had been and everything that had been destroyed faded back to normal. Where there had been a monster, now only a shining white key floated down into Lock's hand.

"A white one this time." She gave a reassuring smile to Cipher. "See? I told you, there was nothing to worry about."

Cipher hesitated before giving a wide smile back. "Yeah."

Lock turned her attention to Stile, who was getting up from the ground. "This has gone on long enough! You and your group have been attacking all of the Eight Queens' Lands, making us fight your monsters and solve your puzzles. Why? When does it end?"

"I can't just tell you like that." Stile shook potting soil out of his hair. "But if you think, it'll be obvious. Why else would we?"

"That's not-"

"Wait!" Nono squeaked out. "Something's wrong, you see!"

A shadow fluttered on the balcony and flickered out. The next second, the figure appeared closer, a step or two behind Stile. Someone in a billowing cloak marked with black and white rings like an optical illusion, meant to throw you if you stared at it, flying out wide over what must have been a wide dress. Under the hood was a blank mask of gleaming porcelain, the top half obscured by the hood. The person reached out a hand, revealing silky gloves with clawlike nails attached to them, and grabbed Stile's shoulder.

He stiffened and didn't look back. He didn't need to. "Lady Cryptalla-!"

Cipher's head shot up. "What?"

Lock tensed. "The leader of the Metamasters? Here?"

"Indeed." Cryptalla laughed. Her voice sounded distorted, maybe by the mask, but maybe by the aura of pulsing orchid purple that was growing around her. "Don't be so surprised. Where else would I go but exactly where I need to be? Did you get the Pre-Cubes, Stile?"

A shiver ran across him. "I was going to get them from the fairy, Lady…"

"Don't worry." She airily lifted her hand off and swished forward past him, raising her arm halfway. "It doesn't really matter if we have them, just as long as we get them out of the way. And as for the two of you…" She coldly faced the two Precure. "I think it's the same."

"Come on!" Cure Lock rushed forward at her, Cipher at her heels. "Let's stop this!"

Cryptalla flicked her wrist. There wasn't a floor anymore. Beneath the Precure's feet, the ground turned into a dark portal, sucking them in in a snap.

"I don't care where you go," her voice echoed, "as long as it's not here..."

They plunged backwards into a blue abyss. Cipher screamed, shot her hand up, but the portal fell out of reach - no, _she_ was falling - and it shut before her just after something flew in.

"No!" Cipher cried out. She fought the force of falling to turn her head. "Lock! Nono!"

"We're still here!" Lock managed. If she had wanted to scream like her sister, it was bitten back as she fell. "But-"

"Watch out, you see!" Nono cut in, clinging to Lock for dear life. Cipher was yanked back and swung to the side.

"Wha-?" She saw nothing, felt not much more before something else tugged her another way and she screamed again. Lock flew up, struggled in the grasp of nothing, and pushed forward only to plummet again. _What is this place?_

Cure Lock cringed and wrested her arm from gravity's pull long enough to yank her Pre-Cube out of its pouch at her waist. "Cipher! We need to disengage!"

Cipher stared. "Wha- aah!?" She started to fall again. Lock leapt after her, fighting the juggling void.

"Disengage! We can't make it together at this rate! You need to be safe!" Lock fell after Cipher, before her eyes, and brought her other hand up to her chest. She pressed on either edge of her combined gem and pulled the blue half-circle piece, Cipher's piece, off. Her Precure outfit melted into the glowing white dress with only half of a yellow keyhole gem.

"Lock! Cipher!" Nono still held tightly to Lock's shoulder.

Lock flung Cipher's half gem at her. "Go!"

Cipher trembled. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them. She forced one hand to retrieve her Pre-Cube and the other to unclip Lock's yellow gem half from hers. Instantly, her uniform reverted to the white half-transformation dress.

The current swept her to the side. She gasped. Pelted the gem in the direction of her sister. Lock caught it. She kept falling.

"Lock!" Cipher cried out. "Lock! _Miu!_"

The current let her go and she dropped, screaming her sister's name, until finally she plunged through another portal.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Emi-chan! Wake up!"<p>

The cheery white cat alarm clock chirped in its digital voice. A head of wavy black hair poked out from under pastel pink covers. The girl snuggled into her bed and brought up her arm to shield her eyes from the daylight coming in past her blinds.

"Mmm…"

"Good morning, Emi-chan! Wake up! Good morning, Emi-chan! Wake up! Good morning, Emi-chan! Wake up!" The cat repeated its morning greeting as the girl rolled over and reached out in the vague direction of her nightstand, feeling around to turn it off. Her hand finally dropped onto the "off" button and the cat stopped mid-sentence. Her phone beside the desk blinked a message, "Alarm shut off. Wake up, [Shinobu Emi]."

Emi dragged herself up to a sitting position and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair, tugging out the tangles.

"Oh, right…" She blinked a few times and pulled herself out of bed. "School."

Getting ready for school went as one would expect in the year 2034. She opened the blinds with a swipe of her phone, showered until the holographic message popped up that she was about to run over the recommended water use, brushed her teeth, and emerged from the bathroom with her hair in a towel and wearing her school uniform. It was kind of dowdy, she had to admit, consisting of a navy blue top with loose-fitting long sleeves and a long pleated skirt. But hey, she hadn't decided on Kuromasu Middle School for the uniforms. Rubbing her eyes again, she sprung down the hall to the breakfast table.

A boy a few years older was already there, laying out freshly cooked fish. He had the same pale pink eyes and black wavy hair that Emi did, though his was much shorter. He waved with a laugh.

"Morning, Emi."

"Good morning, Keisuke-nii!" Emi sat down at the table and bowed her head before starting in on her breakfast. "Did the paper come yet?"

"Already got it." He plunked the folded newspaper next to her place at the table and set a mechanical pencil beside it. Even now, there were still some people reading the printed one. They sold copies from their bookshop, along with digital subscriptions if you wanted one. "Here you go. Just don't get so caught up in it again that you forget to eat. I worked hard on breakfast, you know."

Emi swallowed a bite of fish and got to leafing through the paper. "Thank you! Don't worry, I won't. I'll just read the articles now and take the puzzle page to school. That'll save time."

"You always love the puzzles…" Keisuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair before plopping down in his seat. "Anyway, Mom and Dad are down in the shop already. Who knows why they'd open a bookshop early on a weekday, but I guess sometimes people come in…"

"Neighbourhood seniors, deal-hunters, and students who want to make a quick stop before school," Emi recited with a smile as she read the headlines. "Although it's never really a quick stop, is it? Oh, here's an article about this year's winter festival!"

"Isn't that in, like, a month?" Keisuke raised an eyebrow. "Man, they prepare for this stuff early."

"They've probably been preparing since last year's," Emi laughed. "Besides, you're one to talk. You do everything in advance."

"I'm going to be a doctor," he said between shovelled-in bites of fish. "You have to plan for that your whole life. Are you gonna have enough time to do your hair, or are you gonna go to school with it up in that towel?"

Emi nearly choked on her breakfast. She turned pink and swallowed, checked the kitchen clock, and pouted. "All right! I'll hurry up!"

She finished her breakfast, fixed her hair up so that it fell in waves around her shoulders, and grabbed her school bag with her books already inside. With a quick detour to grab the pencil and carefully tear the puzzle page out of the newspaper, Emi waved goodbye to her older brother and ran down the stairs and out through the small, musty bookshop.

"See you, Mom, Dad!" Emi waved.

"Have a good day at school today!" Her father lifted his head up from behind the counter and waved.

"Good luck!" her mother added, sorting books onto shelves.

Emi ran out from under the old "Shinobu Bookshop" sign and down the street, waving to passersby who waved back. For a second, on her way to the train station, she thought she could see a dark flash high in the sky.

* * *

><p>Falling for so long had stunned Cure Cipher when she flew out of the portal. Even unable to fight, in this half-transformed form, she hadn't succumbed to the shock, and so she fell out of a dark, violent void into a comparatively calm grey sky and tumbled down. A Precure could normally land on her feet, but Cipher's bruised and aching form had barely blinked back to reality when she fell nine-point-eight metres per second into a colossal, leafless deciduous tree, crashing down through the branches and breaking them off before she landed flat on the ground so hard there was a small crater under her.<p>

She groaned.

Her fingers twitched and ran across her Pre-Cube and the loose half of her pin to make sure they were still there. She breathed in slowly and sighed. Shakily, she clipped the two halves together. In a flash of light she was as she had been, the dark-haired girl in the blue dress, holding a blue two-piece gem pin in her hand. Rei shut the pin back up in the Pre-Cube and returned it to its pouch.

"Miu," she whispered.

It occurred to her to look around. Rei forced herself up, cringing at the ache in her skin and her bones, and brushed off some of the dirt. The ground was hard, the smell of frost in the air, and the grass was drying. Outside of the expanse - was it some kind of garden, or… a park? - she could see strange vehicles, flat buildings, and tall ones further out. And people, dressed nothing like she would be even on a normal day.

"What is this place?"

A twig fell out of Rei's hair.

* * *

><p>The Nazonazo Town train ran on time and Emi easily made it to class. She sat down in her desk in the middle of the classroom, hung her school bag on the side of the desk, and opened up the folded piece of newspaper. Crossword, jumble, sudoku, kakuro… After slight deliberation, she went for Fences. That was easy. She just needed to make a complete loop that complied with the numbers in the dotted grid. Hmm, that one was next to the edge, so…<p>

"Emi-chan!"

Emi stopped and looked up at the girl beside her. A brown-haired girl with sparkling red eyes clasped her hands and squealed.

"Emi-chan, did you see it? This morning!"

"See what, Hideko-chan?" She laughed good-naturedly. "Is it another mystery?"

"Uh-huh, and it's way more important than that one time with the principal's missing tie!" Hideko could very easily be imagined to have a pink sparkling flower border around her at this point. "There was a weird flash in the sky this morning! Some dark… thing, did you see it?"

Emi blinked and thought back to her commute. "I think so. It was before I got on the train."

"Right!" Hideko let go of Emi's hands and brought her own hands up to her face, shaking with delight. "Something fell from the sky afterwards! Maybe even a few things! Do you think it's a weird uncharted meteorite? Or maybe a mysterious artifact from a spy plane from another country!"

"I'm not really sure what it is." Emi blinked a few times. "It does sound strange, though."

"I'm going to check it out after school, okay?" Hideko said. "I mean, they'll probably have cleaned it up afterwards if it's really something big, but there are still sure to be clues! And if I find out what's going on with this, then nothing will stop me from solving other mysteries! I'll be a world-famous detective before I even leave middle school!"

Emi smiled. "Good luck, Hideko! I'll help if you want. I know this is important to you." She put down her pencil. "I mean, you've already got somewhere you belong and a dream for where you want to end up."

Hideko blinked and sat down in the desk beside Emi's. "Huh? You have somewhere you belong, too, you know. You fit in great here at Kuromasu. You're the smartest kid in Class 3, you're the girl who singlehandedly revived the geography club last year-"

"That's not exactly how it happened…" Emi rubbed the back of her head.

"It totally counts," Hideko countered. "You joined it and they were going to fold otherwise because they had, what, three or four people? Aside from that, you get love letters all the time from all over the school. Guys and girls."

Emi sighed. "But I've answered all those love letters and gone out at least once with most of the people who sent them, and nothing ever really worked out."

Hideko shook her index finger at Emi. "We're in middle school, Emi-chan! It's not supposed to work out. I mean, some people find their true love in middle school, but for most people, it's just a testing ground! Same with high school, even."

Emi nodded and gave another quiet sigh before turning back to her puzzles. "Yes, but it seems like everyone else already has their lives figured out."

* * *

><p>"I have no idea what I'm doing."<p>

Rei shook her head at herself. Wandering the streets of whatever this city was hadn't been ending up so well. For one thing, people were staring. At first, she'd thought they recognized her. She ran up to the first few, holding up her Pre-Cube.

"Hello? Oh, don't worry! I'm a Precure, you see, and I was just wondering…"

She hadn't gotten further than that before the businesswoman politely excused herself and walked away quickly. Rei had taken this in, wide-eyed, but resolved to try again. Maybe there had been some reason for that. The next person would help her for sure.

"Hello? Sir, you know me, right? I've got to get back to Queen Bianca, could you tell me…"

"Hello! Yes, I'm Cure Cipher. Something terrible has happened, and…"

"Hello? Have you seen my sister? We were separated by a dark portal…"

After the fifth polite avoidance and quick retreat, Rei had concluded two things. The first was that either she was in one of the other queens' lands (though surely they wouldn't be that cold to foreign Precure, not with the Metamasters about!), or that she was somehow somewhere else entirely, although it didn't look like how she imagined the Metamasters' lair, which was the other obvious solution. The second was that being approached by a girl in a formal gown with dirt across her back, twigs in her hair, and bruises all over her body was probably scaring people.

She kept walking down the road for lack of any other options. Some kind of market district? Rei examined a store window. _Lovely Piece,_ the sign read, and in the display window were mannequins with clothes in strange patterns with short pants and cuts that looked like they'd come from another era. Behind them were panoramic screens with scenes of people walking down streets. Rei's eyes went to the prices posted in the window. Twenty thousand… yen? How much was that in gold? Wait, what kind of place didn't use gold? She turned away from the window and looked back up at the cold grey sky she'd fallen out of.

_"I don't care where you go, as long as it's not here," _Cryptalla had said. She wanted them out of the way. Out of the way of what she wanted. Queen Bianca's castle, for sure, and her land, but… wasn't she attacking _everybody?_

"Am I…" Rei shivered at a winter breeze coming through the street. "...Am I not in the Eight Queens' Lands at all?"

* * *

><p>The lunch bell rang and everyone in Class 3 got up or dug into their bags for their lunch boxes. Emi rose from her seat and started sorting her things.<p>

"Want to go for lunch?" Hideko was already getting up and putting her winter jacket on over her uniform. "It might help you feel better."

"Sure!" Emi smiled. "I didn't bring anything today, so that's good. The cafe down the street again?"

It was almost a formality. They rarely went anywhere else on a school day if they didn't bring their own lunches. There were a few restaurants in the area, but this one was close and not very busy, and they had a lot of things that the two of them were willing to eat. Emi especially liked to just get a sandwich and eat it while studying, and Hideko didn't mind, since she needed to read over the material too, or at least use the time to work through notes on whatever 'big mystery' she happened to find.

They made their way down to the cafe and put in their orders, then took a seat by the window. As their sandwiches and soup came, they settled in.

"Are you feeling any better?" Hideko asked, leaning over her bowl of cream of mushroom.

Emi nodded. "A little. School's been easy, at least. I've just been thinking about how I haven't really found something I want to do with my life left. I could run the bookshop with my parents, and I like doing it, but maybe there are other options out there, like what my brother's doing. It's like I'm a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece, or an extra piece that was mis-sorted into the box."

* * *

><p>Edel struggled to a standing position and shook off dirt clods. How long had they been falling, Edel and the Pre-Cubes? The Cubes were still right there in the bag, but this world was… definitely colder than where they'd been before.<p>

The little fairy jumped up out of the ground and began to drag the Pre-Cubes down the street. Time to get someplace warm.

* * *

><p>Hideko took a big bite of her sandwich. Emi wasn't sure why anybody would eat egg salad, but her friend liked it, so hey, fair enough. She took a swig of water and grinned at Emi. "Don't worry! You'll end up fine. ...Hey, what's that?"<p>

Emi looked out the window to where she was pointing. There was a girl shambling down the street, shivering, blue hair and dark skin and… a big formal dress? As she got closer, they saw twigs in her hair and a pained expression on her face, and dirt clods were falling off her back as she walked.

"She doesn't even have a jacket," Emi whispered softly. "What do you think happened to her?"

Hideko already had a pen and paper out and was scribbling things down. "Maybe she came from a really wild fancy party. But at noon? And it looks like she's our age, too!"

Emi pushed back her chair and stood up. "We need to see if she's alright! Let's go, Hideko-chan!" She rushed out of the front door.

Hideko grinned and put her notepad back in her bag. She stood up and ran after, calling back to the cafe owner, "It's okay! We'll be right back!"

Rei forced herself to keep moving, cringing at the cold and the pain she was in. Being a Precure had protected her to a point, but had she been a normal person, she'd have been dead multiple times over from the fight and that gravity void from the shock of the falls and sudden stops. A couple of bruises - okay, a lot - was nothing. But it hurt. It hurt a lot. Being in the middle of a frozen city where everyone was just staring at her wasn't helping at all.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Her head shot back and she looked forward. Two girls around her age were running up to her, calling out. They stopped right before her with concerned looks.

"Who…?" She blinked. "Do you know me?"

"Are you alright?" The one with wavy black hair reached out gently and brushed her fingers over a bruise on Rei's arm. Rei cringed, and she pulled away. "I'm sorry! You're really hurt, aren't you? Come on inside, it's cold."

"Yeah, come eat with us!" The other girl cheered, with brown braids, round red eyes, and wide eyebrows. "You're probably freezing. Besides, your story's got to be interesting! Did you fall out of a tree?"

Rei reached up into her hair and pulled out a twig. She grimaced and tossed it into a trash can without even checking her aim. "...Sort of." She looked at them. "Why are you being nice to me? Everyone else has just been walking away."

"Because you're hurt, you're probably lost, and it's February," Hideko said, holding up her index finger. "Not to mention you're a mystery! But mostly because Emi-chan's a really nice girl."

"You're nice, too, you know," Emi laughed. She bowed at the confused new girl. "My name is Shinobu Emi, and this is my friend, Kaji Hideko-chan. We're students at Kuromasu Middle School down the road. What's your name?"

"...Rei," she said, slowly blinking. "Takaraike Rei. Actually, I'm looking for someone…"

"You can tell us all about it inside!" Hideko gestured for them to come in. "Come on. You're probably getting frostbite or something."

With the others' help, Rei brushed the dirt off of her back and pulled the twigs out of her hair before they reentered Arrow Ring Cafe. Hideko yanked a chair from an empty table and set it at theirs and Emi called over the server before they all sat down.

"So what do you want to order, Takaraike-san?" Emi smiled as the server gave Rei an extra menu and walked back to the kitchen to let her decide.

Rei frowned and looked over the menu. "I'm not sure what a lot of these things are, to be honest. And I don't have any… yen," she confessed, thinking back to the sign in the clothing store window.

Hideko was already digging back into her cream of mushroom soup. "That's okay!" She gave a V sign. "I can pay for it. So what's your story?" Her pen and paper pad were back on the table. Emi read upside down easily enough to stifle a giggle at the inscription. "_Rich diplomat's daughter dissatisfied with life? Escaped formal party out window via tree? Ask."_

Rei hesitated. "I'm not sure how much you two would believe, to be honest… even if you have been nice to me." She looked down. "I'm looking for my sister. We were separated."

"Your sister? That's awful," Emi said. "Maybe we can help! Hideko-chan wants to become a detective, so she's always looking for things to solve."

"And Emi-chan's pretty smart," Hideko added. "Do you know where your sister could be at all? Does she look like you?"

"Sort of," Rei answered, lost in the menu. "Her hair is longer and she's a little taller. She usually wears a ponytail. And I… I have no idea where she is."

"That's okay!" Hideko said. "You're with us now. We can help you solve this!"

Emi nodded. "Of course! But… don't we have to get back to school, Hideko-chan? And we don't know what school Takaraike-san goes to…"

Rei tugged at the end of her hair. "School? I always had that in the Queen's- wait a second." She stared out the window. There, struggling to lug the bag of Pre-Cubes down the sidewalk, was a fluffy little fairy with droopy blue ears.

"Edel…" Rei whispered.

"Huh?" Hideko asked. "Edel?"

"Like the puzzle where you fill in the numbers with colours?" Emi brightened. "You like puzzles too, Takaraike-san?"

Rei tensed, started to rise, and winced from the pain. "Look. Look out the window."

The two did and stared. Emi's mouth dropped open.

"Walking plushie…"

"Is it somebody's robot toy? It looks real…"

Rei scratched her head. "What? No, that's a fairy! Haven't you seen them? I only pointed out that one because we met earlier, and… Why are you staring like that?"

Emi looked at Rei. Then out the window at Edel. Then at Hideko, who was scribbling something akin to _"fancy diplomat's daughter __**from government fairyland conspiracy?**__"_ in her notepad. Then at Edel. Then at Rei.

"W-well, if the fairy is cold, we should bring it in!" she stammered. "Before it freezes! Or gets caught and oh, nobody ever tells you what to do in these situations…"

"What's going on?" Rei asked. "I know I only saw humans before, but does this place really…"

Hideko looked cautiously around the cafe. Thankfully, almost empty. She capped her pen emphatically, leaned forward, and whispered. "I have no idea where you came from, Takaraike-san, but we don't really have fairies here."

Emi was already getting up out of her chair and putting on her jacket, eyes still on the window. She stopped. "Takaraike-san, do you know what that is?"

Rei looked up again. She went grey. A dark portal appeared on the street.

"Yes." She pushed her chair out, gritted her teeth, and forced her aching bones to move. She rushed out the front door, Emi calling "hey, wait!" and rushing after her. Hideko called the server over, left a pile of money on the table, and ran out afterward with her half-eaten sandwich in one hand and her jacket and bag in the other.

Edel stopped, trembling, in the middle of the sidewalk. "M-Metamasters, I think!?"

Out of the portal stepped a woman in a black bodysuit with high, chunky-heeled boots. Behind her trailed a blue opera cape that flared out widely at the top, and her belt bore a silver ring. On her chest was the same maze emblem Stile had on his, and her silver hair was pulled back, braided, and pinned into the shape of a cube.

"Well," she said, her cape billowing out in the wind. "Isn't this a twist. Hello there, Bianca's fairy."

Edel shook and clung onto the bag. "You're never getting these Pre-Cubes, I think!"

"You're not sure of anything, are you?" She flipped back the edge of her cape. "Well, we got you out of the way, but now you're back _in_ the way. That didn't take too long. I guess Lady Cryptalla will want me to deal with you."

"Stop right there!"

The woman turned her head. Rei, goosebumped and bruised and still in a blue satin gown, was pointing at her, flanked by two visibly confused civilian girls who were actually dressed for winter.

"Cubia of the Metamasters!" Rei declared. "You won't be getting Edel or those Pre-Cubes! Now tell me where Cryptalla sent my sister to!"

Hideko grabbed Emi's arm. "Do you think this is connected to this morning?"

"I don't know," Emi replied, eyes not leaving the scene in front of them. "I don't know, but…"

Cubia rested a hand on her hip and turned to face them. "Hello to you too, Cure Cipher. This won't take too long, even with you here."

Rei stepped forward. "I said-"

"Look at you." Cubia laughed like frozen bells. "You're cut up and bruised and freezing and you don't know where you are. Your sister's still gone, so you have no partner. A Precure who's all alone is hardly a Precure at all, is she?"

Rei's hand hovered over the pouch where she kept her Pre-Cube. "Even if I can't transform without somebody else… I still can't let you threaten people! Because Miu wouldn't allow it either! I'm going to find her again!"

"Nice sentiment." Cubia reached up and drew a small silver ball out of her hair. It quickly flashed more runes and she rolled it between her fingers. "But I don't think it'll hold up to reality!" She flipped the Hanjir ball forward. It spun in the air and landed on top of the large twig on the ground that had come out of Rei's hair.

The stick absorbed the ball just like Queen Bianca's topiary had before. It shone with a terrible blow and grew, shifted, and broke. The glow snapped off with a flash. Before them was a course of sticks taking up the street, standing up straight, each taller than a person and each glaring with bugging-out eyes. A very long ribbon attached to one of the poles and whipped around in the air.

"A Hanjir," Rei explained before the girls behind her could ask. "Stay back!"

"What's-" Hideko's question was cut off by a scream. The ribbon whipped at them and they scattered. It hit the ground, gashing the pavement before rising up again.

Cubia leapt up onto one of the pegs of her Hanjir and laughed again. "Come on! You think you're any better off than the civilians now?"

Edel ran over to them, dragging the bag behind. "Cure Cipher! She's right, I think! We have to get out of here!"

Emi watched the scene with wide eyes. "Takaraike-san? What are we going to do?"

_We?_ Rei turned back to her, wordless. She'd always been a Precure, a protector. But this was a world without Precure or fairies. Did that mean…

"Watch out!"

The ribbon lashed at them again. Hideko hurled herself in front of Rei and Emi. It snapped her square on. She skidded across the pavement and hit the side of the building before falling to the ground cold.

"Hideko-chan!" Emi cried out. She ran to her friend's side and checked her over, breathing to try and calm herself down. Okay. Okay. Hideko-chan was alive. Out cold, but she'd be alright. If that was all. If…

"You won't end up much better!" Cubia declared, still perched on top of the stick. "You can't fight without Lock. You can't even solve this, can you?"

Wait. Solve? Emi looked up and shakily, gently, put Hideko down. She slowly stood up. "Takaraike-san?"

Rei didn't look back. She clenched her fist. "Metamasters…"

Edel ran behind Rei and looked up between her and Emi. "We're in major trouble, I think! We need at least two Precure, and I don't even know what kind of puzzle this is, I think!"

"Puzzle?" Emi hesitated. She looked over Rei's shoulder. An array of sticks… points. And what was on the ground? Were those… numbers? A three on the side. Another three between the points next to it. A one in the corner. Her mind flashed back to the morning's paper.

"It's Fences," she whispered.

Rei looked back over her shoulder. "What?"

"This monster horde thing," Emi said. "They're all one monster, right? Look at it from above. The sticks are points, there are numbers on the ground - that ribbon's probably the line you make with your pencil! It's a giant Fences puzzle!"

Rei hesitated. She thought back to Miu in the halls.

"Do you know how to solve it?"

"Yes!" Emi didn't pause before answering this time. "It looks like an easy one, but… Wait, you don't mean?"

"Hanjir have to be fought until they're solved," Rei explained. "I know we just met, and this might not work. But if you trust me and I trust you, we might have a chance. Edel, you have the Pre-Cubes in that bag, right?"

Edel nodded and opened up the bag. Three Pre-Cubes sat there, one orange, one green, and one pink. "She means you should take one, I think!"

"Me?" Emi shuddered. She took in a deep breath and looked around at Rei, at Edel, at the school down the road, at Cubia and the Hanjir. At the downed Hideko, her friend.

"I'll do it!"

She crouched down, reached in, and pulled out the pink one before standing up.

Still dividing her attention between Emi behind her and the Hanjir in front of her, Rei pulled her own Pre-Cube out of its pouch. "All right. Now get beside me, then follow what I do."

Emi stepped over to Rei's side. Following Rei's movements, she put one hand on each side of her Pre-Cube and got ready to twist the cube open.

Three, two, one… "Link! Precure Solution!"

They appeared in white dresses in a sparkling pastel world of pink and blue. Transformation really was the same with a new partner as it was with Miu. When they twisted open their Pre-Cubes, Emi's two-piece gem brooch was in the shape of a jigsaw puzzle piece. With Rei's prompting, they exchanged pieces and put the mixed and matched pieces together, making their uniforms appear on them. Rei's was still blue with petal sleeves and knee-high boots. Emi's was pink, with short bell sleeves and pink Mary-Janes over kneesocks with puzzle piece jewels on the straps of the shoes. Her hair got longer, save for two pigtails tied with ribbons accented by puzzle pieces, and went from black to very dark purple. When Rei's eyes turned blue, Emi's only got slightly darker pink. They returned to the normal world and time and automatically posed.

Rei covered half of her face and then uncovered it by sweeping her hand to the side. "A secret protector, Cure Cipher!"

Emi put one hand to the side and made a fist with the other, pumping it slightly. "Creating a new image, Cure Jigsaw!"

She paused. Looked Rei, no, Cipher over. Looked herself over. Then looked back at the Hanjir.

"I might not know what to do, but… let's stop this, Takaraike-san!"

Cipher took it in for a second before nodding. "All right!"

* * *

><p>Rei: Now it's time for…<p>

Everyone: Puzzle Hunt Comment Corner! (All mascots add their respective sentence enders.)

Emi: This feature is back?

Edel: It's a very informative out-of-universe special, I think!

Stile: This episode featured three Precure and three villains. Don't worry, you'll be seeing more of everyone here.

Cubia: Everybody in this series is named for a type of puzzle. Can you guess them all?

Hideko: Today's featured Hanjir is a fifteen puzzle, also known as a sliding puzzle. They traditionally have fifteen numbers on the tiles that you have to put in order, but a lot of the time, they have pictures on them instead!

Emi: They're really popular in puzzle video games, too! There's also an unsolvable variant where only the fourteen and fifteen tiles are swapped. Good thing the Precure didn't have to fight that one!

Rei: Hopefully this next Hanjir isn't impossible, too. See you all next time!


	2. My New Partner! Rei and Emi!

"Well," Cubia quietly laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Let's see how you two fare against my Hanjir, shall we?"

"She says 'well' a lot, I think," Edel whispered from faer hiding spot behind Cure Cipher's leg. When Cubia looked over, Edel jumped and scrambled behind the building and out of sight.

The Hanjir lashed out again. Cipher and Jigsaw jumped up to avoid it. The ribbon slapped the ground and kicked up snow and dirt. Cipher turned forward in the air and brought her leg down hard. The Hanjir roared in pain and whipped up, but not before Cipher rolled off and landed on her feet.

She looked up. Jigsaw was far above the street now, flailing about in the air.

"How did I jump this high!?"

Of course. This was her first transformation. Rei clenched her fist and called up. "Just drop down! You don't have to worry about getting hurt too badly. Control it!"

Up in the air, Cure Jigsaw breathed deep. Safe? To drop from this high up? Right, if Rei had been the one who fell from that height this morning- Her thoughts were hijacked by the scream she found ripping out of her as she plummeted down towards the giant killer Fences puzzle. _Giant killer Fences puzzle_. That was the least of the strange things in the street. Emi's capacity for thought fought to the forefront enough that she decided that, if she was going to land on something, she should land on it.

And thus she plunged to the ground and landed splayed out on the rising whip of the Hanjir, taking it down with her and sending a deep crack down the street. Cure Jigsaw twitched a few times and slowly peeled herself to a sitting position with a groan.

"Jigsaw?" Cipher hopped over to her and offered a hand. "You can stand, right?"

Cure Jigsaw took it and let Cipher pull her up. "Thank you. I-" Cipher tugged her off of the Hanjir and she stumbled, off just before the ribbon came to its senses and pulled back into the air to hover around them. "Whoa!"

"That didn't beat it," Cipher explained. "A Hanjir needs to be solved, remember? Precure where I come from are always in teams. I'll hold it off up front. You figure out how to solve it. Okay?"

* * *

><p>Puzzle Hunt Precure<p>

Episode 2: "My New Partner! Rei and Emi!"

* * *

><p>Jigsaw hesitated. She looked at Cipher and then at the Hanjir's looming line whip. The school bell rang in the distance. She froze.<p>

"Cure Jigsaw?"

The Hanjir whipped at snapped up to catch the ribbon around her forearm.

Cubia raised her eyebrows from her perch. "Hmm?"

"Hideko-chan is knocked out. Cipher is hurt." Jigsaw defiantly held up her head. She grabbed the ribbon with her other hand and wrenched her arm from the end. "I might not know what to do, but I can't sit back or run away!"

Cipher took in a deep breath, her smile widening. "Let's go!"

She ran up to the Hanjir and started to dart around, hitting the poles. The Hanjir's faces roared and the ribbon whip began to chase her. Jigsaw nodded and leapt atop the cafe roof. She scanned the layout of the puzzle and nodded to herself.

"Cipher!" Jigsaw called down. "Do you see the numbers on the ground?"

"Yes!" Cipher called back before jumping out of the way of the ribbon. "What are they? You said you knew this puzzle!"

"I do! It's Fences!" Jigsaw explained. "The posts represent dots on the paper, and four dots make a square. Inside some of these squares are numbers that show how many lines the pencil makes around that square. You solve Fences by making a complete loop with your pencil, start to finish, taking all of that into account!"

"And you said the ribbon is probably the pencil line, right?" Cipher looked up at said ribbon bearing down on her and rolled out of the way just in time. "I think I've got it! So I need to make it chase me until it loops itself in the right pattern!"

"Right!" Jigsaw pointed down. "Stay away from that one with a zero on it. Run a line underneath the 'one' under it so it isn't touching the zero! Then go down to that 'three' and I'll tell you what to do from there!"

Cubia straightened up. "Well, well. You've got that figured out." She summoned another murky portal in the air. "I've got somewhere to be, but I wonder if you can beat my Hanjir?"

"Hey, wait-!" Jigsaw called out, but Cubia had already stepped off her pole and dropped into the portal, with it closing after her.

Cipher bit back what she wanted to say and scowled. "Gone again-! We'll see her later. Just tell me where to go next!"

"Ah! Right." Jigsaw took in a deep breath and looked over the puzzle. "Go left, then down in between the other 'three' next to i- watch out!"

Cipher turned up to guard from the ribbon. The pain from her bruises kicked in and she cringed just long enough to get smacked down by the Hanjir and skid across the puzzle.

"Cipher!" Jigsaw called out. She hesitated and looked down at the array, breathed in and out and trembled.

"Ngh… I'm fi-!"Cipher cut off and feebly raised her arm to block when she saw the Hanjir raising up again.

"No!"

Jigsaw took a deep breath and leapt down into the fray. This time she landed on her feet, kicking with both right where the ribbon was meant to turn. The Hanjir roared and turned the tip of its ribbon back. Cure Jigsaw backflipped off the ribbon and down to the next pole. She held up her hands and looked at them, her jaw dropping slightly.

"I can do this?"

Cure Cipher forced herself to her feet with a groan. She smiled. "Jigsaw!"

"W-whoa!" Jigsaw ducked to the left and got the Hanjir to chase her down. "Are you okay? Can you still move?"

"Precure are tough!" Cipher climbed onto one of the poles, taking a second to kick it in its face. "Sorry to throw you into the fray like this! I'll cover you if you can run to the next part!"

"Wait, how?" Jigsaw gasped and started to run from the ribbon whip. "Please hurry!"

Cipher thrust her hands out together in the direction of the whip and watched as circles of glowing ancient code appeared around them. "Precure Cipher Encrypt!" Blue lights shot at the Hanjir, both the poles and the whip, the latter of which dropped to the ground. Cipher hopped from pole to pole over to Jigsaw and the whip started to creep toward them again.

"Wow!" Jigsaw's eyes lit up. "This is what Precure can do…"

"Let's go!" Cipher grabbed Jigsaw's arm. "We have to get back to where the loop started, right?"

Jigsaw took in a quick breath. "Right!" She pointed and they started to run the way she indicated.

Past a one. Around a two. They'd almost gotten to the end when they stopped. Tangled around the poles, the ribbon's reach was shorter, but while it whipped at them, it wasn't really moving. Not forward.

"It's not chasing us now?" Jigsaw asked, standing back cautiously.

"It's got enough reach, but…" Cipher tensed.

It did indeed, just enough, but it was moving side to side, slowing. Then backing up. Cure Jigsaw's eyes followed its path and then the roundabout way they'd taken it.

"It's trying to get off the poles," she whispered. "It's noticed we've looped it! What do we do?"

Cipher was already running at it. She tackled it to the ground with a cry of pain from both her and the Hanjir. It growled and shook her off, and she tumbled and hit a pole.

"Cure Cipher!" Jigsaw stepped forward, kicking up dust that was sparkling with ice crystals. Her pink curls blew back in the wind. "That's enough!"

Something glowed within her. She reached her arm out and a light gathered in her hand.

"Precure… Jigsaw Rainbow!"

Out show a pink light that turned into a rainbow-coloured chain. Cure Jigsaw grabbed the end at her hand and snapped it towards the ribbon. It wrapped around the edge and the ribbon grabbed it right back. Cure Jigsaw dug her feet into the concrete and tugged; the Hanjir tugged right back.

Cure Cipher pulled herself back up. She looked at the Hanjir and Jigsaw's chain, equally matched. Cipher bolted to Jigsaw's side and put her hands around hers.

"Eh?" Jigsaw blinked.

"Let me help you with that." Cipher gave a small smile.

One Precure can punch down a small building. Two are stronger. Jigsaw and Cipher pulled together and brought the Hanjir's ribbon line crashing to the ground. They reeled it in to the pole where its other end was, just close enough to touch. Jigsaw's rainbow whip flashed away, no longer needed. The Hanjir immediately froze, glowed brightly, and started to fluctuate this way and that, before shrinking to a pin's size and popping. The sticks on the ground reappeared. The road and buildings restored themselves to normal.

"You did it again, I think!" Edel jumped out from behind the edge of the building and cheered. "Go, Precure!"

A gleaming black key appeared and floated down. Cipher reached out her hand and grabbed it.

"Good… we got the Clue Key…"

With one last look at the new pink Precure beside her, she dropped to her knees and collapsed face first to the ground.

* * *

><p>Cubia landed with a clack on the polished floor. She surveyed the maze of doors and hallways that was the Metamasters' castle and brushed her hair out of her face.<p>

"You went easy on them, you know."

She looked down. There stood a girl - younger, about the age of the Precure - with the hood of her short green cape up, only letting the spiral curl on the right side of her hair out. The girl snickered and played with it.

"Are you going soft now, Cubia?"

"Of course I went easy on them, Tetya." Cubia swept out her opera cape. "I had to act like they were going to die, but if I flat-out killed those Precure now, that would defeat the entire point. You know that."

"I have to agree," Stile said, walking down another hallway towards them. He stretched out his arms above his head. "Still, we move into a new world and the Precure show up? Lady Cryptalla should probably know about this."

"If she doesn't already," Cubia mused. "Well, let's go report it."

* * *

><p>Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.<p>

"Mm…?" Rei opened her eyes slowly, blinking back the light of the white ceiling. She carefully looked around at the sterile room, shifting under the itchy blanket. A bed? To her left was a figure she blinked a few times to recognize.

"You're awake!" the pink-haired girl let out a small breath of relief and hugged the fairy on her lap. Edel. Right, the fairy from before. And that was the girl who… Rei turned her head the other way and saw the other girl, the civilian who'd been knocked out, sleeping in the bed next to hers.

"I called the hospital to get you both here after the fight," Emi explained. "Then I called the school to apologize for not coming back while waiting. Hotaru-sensei was very lenient, actually. I suppose it's because I've never skipped before."

"You called?" Rei looked over. "I didn't see any transmitter stations on the street corners in this world…"

"Is that your world's version of payphones?" Emi scratched her head. "We don't really have that sort of thing now. I used my phone." She dug into her bag and pulled a small metal square out. With a brush of a button, she brought up a holographic display with a number of tiles, some updating in the corners. Rei's eyes went wide.

"I've never seen anything like that," she whispered. "Our phones are a lot bigger, and you can't use them in a hospital. Is this world's technology really that high?"

Emi looked back from texting her family on the holographic keyboard. "Well, we don't have fairies here, so I guess a lot of things are different. Oh, I had the tube mail send some of my clothes from home, since we look about the same size. I didn't think you'd want to wear a hospital gown or that fancy dress around when they let you out. The hospital said you and Hideko-chan would be fine to get out later today, Takaraike-san."

Rei relaxed a little. "I guess you're taking care of me again. I'm sorry. I just need to find my sister and get back to the Eight Queens' Lands. Those Pre-Cubes were supposed to be presented to Queen Shyama, and she and Queen Bianca are probably in a lot of danger right now."

Emi smiled. "It's okay. I'm always worried when I don't have a clear direction. I might not understand being a Precure right now, but I think you're a good one."

Edel nodded and clapped faer tiny paws. "You and Cure Lock are great Precure, and Cure Jigsaw too, I think!"

Emi hugged Edel again and smiled at Rei. "Takaraike-san, I'd like to help. I'd like to listen to what you have to say. Can you tell me everything? About your world and what we can do to help."

Rei thought back to their fight with Cubia's Hanjir. Miu's face flashed in her mind, then Nono's, and then Queen Bianca and the castle and their home."

"All right."

* * *

><p>The walk to Emi's house was a lot more comfortable, or at least warmer. Rei was wearing Emi's spare powder blue shirt and jeans with a puffy jacket over top, walking in between Emi and Hideko in their uniforms. The fact that some of the commute had been by train, instead of just walking everywhere, also helped.<p>

"That's definitely a story!" Hideko clasped her hands and sparkled at Rei. "Who knew there was more than just this world? Don't worry, we'll only tell if you want us to. Although it's the perfect mystery…"

Rei cocked her head and blinked. "Ah, thank you. If telling everyone would complicate things, maybe we shouldn't right now. After we figure out why the Metamasters are in this world and find my sister, it'll be easier."

"Deal!" Hideko gave a V sign. "Hey, Emi, can we stay over at your place tonight? I want to help Takaraike-san out too, and we should work out a plan."

Emi bit her lip and pulled out her phone. After a short exchange of holographic texts, she nodded. "Okay! My parents say it's alright. What do you think, Takaraike-san?"

Rei shivered under the jacket. "I do need a place to stay the night."

"Settled, then!" Hideko pulled out her own phone and sent a pre-saved message. "Mom will let me, but I'm asking just in case. Oh, hey, here we are!" In front of them was the Shinobu Bookshop with its glowing sign.

Emi waved inside and gave Rei an encouraging smile. "This is my family's store. We live on the floor above it. You can come in!"

"I see," Rei nodded. "Miu and I actually lived above our family's business, too, before we became Precure and started living in a special compound. Maybe this world isn't all that different…"

Edel poked out from inside Rei's coat. "It is and it isn't, I think!"

"Well?" Hideko asked, laughing despite the large bandage wrapped around her head. "What do you think of your first day here, Takaraike-san?"

"...I'm hopeful," she replied. "You two. You can just call me 'Rei', if that's okay."

Emi's smile slowly grew. "Rei-chan!"

They walked into the warm glow of the Shinobu Bookshop, waving and greeting Emi's parents and brother.

* * *

><p>Emi: And now it's time for…<p>

Everyone: Puzzle Hunt Comment Corner! (Edel: I think!)

Hideko: Not too bad a time frame, huh?

Edel: Now we're settled, but there are two more Pre-Cubes, and that's two more Precure to find, I think!

Rei: Plus we need to find Miu, who's still missing.

Cubia: Today's featured puzzle is Fences. It's also known as Slitherlink, Ouroboros, and by its Japanese name, Takegaki. Played on a rectangle of dots with some numbers in between, the object is to make a loop around the numbers.

Rei: Like Cure Jigsaw said, the number in a square shows how many lines touch that square. Most of the squares don't have any numbers at all, but the ones that do should be paid attention to.

Tetya: This episode introduced me, too! That's all three of Lady Cryptalla's agents. I'm a lot more fun than they are.

Emi: See you all next time!


	3. More Trouble? Cure Riddle is Born!

"Where are you from again, Rei-chan?" Emi's father set down the rice cooker and opened it up. A cloud of steam rose up in a puff.

"Queen Bianca's realm in the Eight Queens' Lands," Rei said matter-of-factly. She frowned as she surveyed the table. Emi's parents were giving each other questioning looks, her brother was making a face, and Emi and Hideko stiffened and fidgeted in their chairs. Rei bit her lip. "Was that the wrong thing to say? Nobody seemed to have heard of it on the street, either…"

Edel fidgeted in faer chair, having to sit on a stack of books just to reach the table. "But Cryptalla must have sent us really far away, I think."

Maybe Emi and Hideko had been right. They'd immediately suggested when everyone got out of the hospital that Edel pretend to be a stuffed toy or a robot and Rei a native of this world. Apparently, it might freak people out otherwise. Rei admitted that she'd already freaked out enough people for one day, but there was no way that that was going to work. She'd already stared at the self-driving subways made of little cars that broke apart and joined together with magnets, Emi talking to her shimmery pink bracelet to turn on the lights and appliances in her house, and how such a tiny metal square in one's pocket could be considered a phone. They'd get caught up forever trying to explain that. Besides, Rei was a Precure! A sworn protector of one of the Eight Queens did not lie. Not unless the Queen herself told her to do it, and that was for the good of the realm, like if one of the other Queens had made a move first to encroach on their land. Spying would be acceptable then. Now, she was an ambassador of Queen Bianca. Technically. Well, enough to not want to make things up and tarnish their reputation.

Emi coughed politely. "Rei-chan needs some help to get back home. Thanks for letting me have her and Hideko-chan over tonight."

Her mother smiled. "Don't worry, Emi-chan! Your friends are always welcome here. Rei-chan's story may be a little strange, but she's clearly telling the truth."

Keisuke had already loaded up his plate with fish. "What was your first clue, Mom? The fairy?" Both parents gave him warning glares and he shook his head. "Sorry. I do agree that we should help them out. This is just kind of messed up."

"I'm having a little trouble adjusting, myself," Rei offered with an apologetic smile. She examined the chopsticks at her plate, turning them over with a confused look before taking just one of them and going for the serving plates.

Hideko caught her hand. She looked over to find the brown-haired girl shaking her head.

"No. Nonononono, Rei-chan, you don't stab your food with these. Here." She let go, picked up her own chopsticks, and effortlessly lifted a few pieces of fish onto Rei's plate. "Like that."

Rei sighed a little. Case in point.

* * *

><p>Puzzle Hunt Precure<p>

Episode 3: More Trouble? Cure Riddle is Born!

* * *

><p>Emi's room was smaller than Rei expected, but had enough room on the floor to lay out sleeping bags for both Rei and Hideko. Rei carefully entered hers after studying it, Emi perched on the bed with her phone projecting a holographic display, and Hideko lay stomach-down on the sleeping bag, doing her homework.<p>

"It was really surprising when you were forward with my parents," Emi admitted. "But I'm glad it worked out."

Hideko looked up from her book. "You might want to be careful, though. At least until we've got all of this solved, we should act like normal girls in our everyday lives."

"I may not get used to that," Rei said. "I already stand out. I'm too accustomed to the things we have at home."

Edel nestled into Rei's pillow. "Everything is so different here, it will be hard for both of us, I think. What are you doing, Emi?"

"This?" She pushed forward on the air. A sensor in her tiny phone caught the movement and flipped the image around to show a tiled search engine, its entries updating and moving around. "I couldn't find any reference to the Eight Queens' Lands on our world's Internet, so now I'm doing a search on 'Precure'. I'm not getting a lot of hits, but it looks like Precure have appeared here since the last century at least. They're always really different and nobody knows what they do or where they come from, but they've fought monsters and other criminals whenever they've shown up."

Hideko gave a thumbs up with the hand that was holding her pencil. "That's my Emi-chan! You're always a good help. Precure must not be very common if we haven't heard of them, though. I'll ask around. Carefully. It'll be good detective practice!"

Rei unzipped the side of her sleeping bag and sat up. She pulled open the bag of Pre-Cubes and looked in, as if to check that they were still there.

Edel gently patted her arm with a paw. "We'll get back and save everyone, I think."

"Thanks." She sighed. "I just miss home. I miss my sister. We were a good Precure team, and she was always better… I'm glad I found you two, though. You're a good Precure already, Emi."

"If this Precure thing involves puzzles, no wonder she's good at it," Hideko said.

Emi blushed. "Thank you, both of you, but I'm not that great. I still don't really know how to fight. As for puzzles, maybe I do well on puzzles that are laid out from the start, like jigsaw puzzles or the ones in the paper, but puzzle games that are always getting new pieces, randomly generated by computers? Those might be addictive, but I have trouble adapting to them."

Hideko shook her finger at Emi. "Stop berating yourself, Emi-chan. We'll be fine! Believe me. You know, even though I'm not a Precure or anything." She shut her math book and slid it aside, then turned around to lay up on the sleeping bag, wincing and biting back cries every time one of her bruises touched something.

The phone beeped and an alert slid across the display. "It's late. Alarm set. Go to sleep, [Shinobu Emi], [Kaji Hideko], and [one] other guest." Rei's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, right. We probably should." Emi swiped a finger across the holo-display and her blinds turned shut. "I'll go brush my teeth and then you all can. Don't worry, Rei-chan, we have a new toothbrush and enough floss for you, too. Hideko-chan, yours is where we usually keep it."

Rei looked between them and gave a quiet sigh, absently petting Edel.

* * *

><p>Emi's alarm woke them up on time and they proceeded to get ready for the day without incident (unless one counted Rei nearly falling over when the cleaning robot emerged from the wall to take their dirty laundry). When the three girls came out to the kitchen, three places were set for them with hot food, a newspaper next to Emi's. Keisuke was already sitting there reading over flashcards.<p>

"Morning," he said with a slight wave. "Dad's down in the shop again and Mom's at some neighbourhood meeting. Your friend likes miso soup, right?"

Rei was staring at the soup, rice, and fried egg in front of her. Her head tilted slightly. "Isn't this something you'd have for supper?"

"No, it's breakfast, Rei-chan." Emi giggled and gave a kind smile. "It'll give you energy! All the nutrients you need for the morning, right, Keisuke-nii?"

"Hey, just because I'm going to be a doctor doesn't mean I'm an answer machine." He rubbed the back of his head. "Don't tell me you're wanting to be a nutritionist now. Wasn't it a baseball player last week?"

Emi turned pink. "You know I'm having trouble deciding what I want to do with my life…"

Rei looked over at her and then down at her soup, shoulders slumped. Hideko bit her lip, scribbled something on a notebook under the table, and rested a hand on Rei's arm lightly.

"Hey, Rei-chan. What are you going to do today?"

Rei jumped a little and Hideko pulled back. Rei shook her head. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

"That's okay!" Hideko said. "Emi-chan and I are going to school, but I was wondering if you had anywhere to go."

"I was planning to go out and investigate the town," Rei replied. "I don't know anything about this place, and if the Metamasters are attacking it even though it's got nothing to do with the Eight Queens' Lands, it's my duty as Queen Bianca's Precure to find out why."

Hideko grinned. "Investigating is definitely my thing. Maybe we can meet up with you after school. Emi-chan's a Precure like you now, so she should be there to help, too - oh, what do you think, Emi-chan?"

Emi looked up and swallowed a mouthful of rice. "That sounds great! It'll be a while until school ends, though. Do you need a map, Rei-chan? I'll lend you my controller bracelet - you know, the one I was using for the lights in the house? It's linked to my phone already."

"It's a map, too?" Rei blinked a few times. "I mean, that sounds good. Thank you all. You're being so nice to me."

"Hey, this is right up our alley!" Hideko clasped her hands together and nearly sparkled. "You need help finding things out about the town, I need help finding out what's going on with you and those people you're fighting, and Emi-chan's perfect for helping you out! It's great!"

Emi looked up from the newspaper. "I'm not that great, Hideko-chan… Ah, Rei-chan! You don't put your rice in the soup! You eat it separately! And the shredded daikon is for the fried egg!"

Rei's shoulders slumped. "I need to go home."

* * *

><p>At the end of the maze in the Metamasters' castle was a polished throne room. The gleaming dark marble floor was arranged with oddly-shaped tiles that latched perfectly onto one another, and the checkerboard walls were accented by what looked like glittering gold, though who knew if it was real. Past a few steps was a throne with the back shaped like a question mark, and in front of that, facing her three agents, stood Cryptalla in her obscuring cloak.<p>

"I saw the fairy and one of the Precure, Lady Cryptalla." Cubia knelt. The others followed, a step or two behind her. "They've ended up in the new world we've just made a move into."

Cryptalla seemed to consider this for a moment. Finally, she replied. "Only one?"

"Yes, Lady Cryptalla. Only Cure Cipher. Well, they've also got those Pre-Cubes, and a native of the world has become a new Precure to assist her."

Cryptalla didn't say anything to that.

Stile lifted his head. "Lady Cryptalla, I'm confused. Was this planned?"

"Stile!" Tetya elbowed him. "Obviously it was. Lady Cryptalla plans everything, you idiot!"

Stile shook off the young girl and continued. "You sent the Precure and the fairy into the void. I know you had a reason. Did you send them to that world on purpose because we were going there, or was it the other way around? And what does the human world have to do with our objectives, anyway? The Eight Queens' Lands I can understand, but…"

Cryptalla turned her head at him, letting the image of the hood over the impassive mask sink in.

"All will be clear in time, Stile." Her voice echoed, distorted as ever behind the mask. "All you need to do is make Hanjir and distribute Clue Keys the same way you always have."

She dismissed them with a wave. The three Metamasters rose and walked out of the throne room together.

"That didn't answer anything." Stile sighed. "Of course I believe in Lady Cryptalla and what she's doing, but this latest move is just confusing."

"Well, you couldn't have expected anything different." Cubia fixed her hair. "Lady Cryptalla never gives a straight answer for anything. We have to figure it out for ourselves. That's more the case now than ever."

Tetya shrugged and pulled up her beribboned socks. "Hey, we know what we're supposed to do. You two can be all mysterious and confused about the big picture. I take life as it comes! That's why I'll always beat you two."

Stile groaned. "Not this again. You're a kid, Tetya. You're the same age as those Precure. What are you gonna do?"

"Duh." Tetya made a face. "If Lady Cryptalla says we should go down and mess with the Precure, that's where I'm going."

* * *

><p>"You know, Edel…"<p>

"What is it?"

Rei's shoulders slumped. "This isn't giving me any clues at all."

They had made it back to the park that Rei had landed in when she first arrived. City workers were busy cleaning up the debris from the branches that fell when she'd crashed into that tree. The portal was long gone, and aside from the branches being hauled off and the small Rei-shaped crater in the ground, there was no real evidence of anything magical. Certainly not of Miu. Or, for that matter, the Metamasters.

Edel poked faer head out of Rei's bag and tugged on the tail of her jacket. "We'll find something, I think. Precure can do anything!"

"I don't feel like a very good Precure right now." She looked up and pulled her jacket closer together to deflect the wind. "Are you okay in there?"

"It's warmer than outside, I think." Edel's tiny teeth chattered. "Can we go indoors somewhere, please?"

Rei looked sadly at Edel. For a second, she saw a different face on the fairy and yellow ears instead of blue. She quickly shook her head. This was _Edel. _Come on.

"I guess we do need to rest," she managed to say. "Miu would say it's healthy… What's that?"

Edel's eyes followed hers. Near the top of the hill, a gleaming green creature floated down the road with a bag and a holographic display in front of it. Rei and Edel stared for a moment.

"Didn't Hideko and Emi say this world didn't have any fairies?"

"I think so, I think…"

Rei broke into a run. Edel clung to the edge of the bag, dizzy and spiral-eyed. They reached the top of the hill and Rei reached out her arm to the fairy.

"Hey!"

It turned around. Light gleamed off of it and Rei pulled her hand back. That was metal casing, not skin and fur. Now that they saw its face, the 'fairy' looked blank, its eyes digitized and focused. It beamed out a holographic display of an identification card.

"I am Senri 07, Emerald Chewing Gum. Personal assistant device!" it chirped. "Current status: occupied. Do you have a comment or other message?"

Rei deflated. "A robot fairy…" She collapsed to her knees.

Edel scrambled out of the bag and touched Rei's arm with a paw. "Rei, it's okay, I think! We'll find your sister and get back eventually, I think!"

Rei cringed. Dirt and rocks were grinding into her palms. She sniffed and breathed in before looking down at Edel.

"I want to."

"Rei?"

"I want to find her," she said between gasps and sniffles. "Everything else seems like a useless distraction. Emi and her family have been really nice to me, don't get me wrong, but Miu's my partner. She's always been a better Precure. She's my sister! I don't understand anything in this world, and if she were here, she would have the hang of it in no time and drive the Metamasters out, too!"

Edel raised faer little arms to Rei. "It will be okay, I think."

Rei rubbed her eyes. "How so?"

"Because together we'll all find your sister, I think!" Edel nodded and pumped tiny fists. "Precure are amazing and can do anything, I think! She's got to be okay somewhere, and even though you said you aren't as good, you're still a great Precure who can find her and save everybody, I think!"

Rei breathed in and out. She looked around her at the town. A skiff of snow was swirling down the street with a whistle and most of the people were either inside the shops on the street or running quickly to get into them. The robot fairy had already begun to float away down its path. Rei wiped her eyes and gently picked up Edel for a hug.

"Let's find a place to eat."

* * *

><p>Class 3 at Kuromasu Middle School was sitting attentively, watching the silver-haired young woman at the front, who was clicking through a slideshow with one hand and thumbing over a light-up, see-through display that looked to all the world like a piece of electronic cellophane with the other.<p>

"This whole world has all kinds of unsolved mysteries!" She beamed at the class and shifted to the next slide. "That means there's plenty of material out there for your assignments. You've got a few weeks to write a good report on an unsolved mystery, but don't think I'll forget!"

The student sitting behind Emi raised his hand. "What kind of mystery should we report on, Hotaru-sensei?"

"Something school-appropriate, hopefully." She laughed a little. "But really, you can do anything from maybe an old unsolved crime to an urban legend or even something in your own life! For example, when I was a kid, one of my mothers always had a locked box in her closet and I never knew what it was. I'm not suggesting that you go and do this yourselves, mind! But I opened it one day, and I found that it was just a stash of junk food that she didn't want me eating!"

The class burst out in laughter. Hideko raised her hand. "Is that the mom who's a TV writer or the other one?"

"The TV writer, yes," Hotaru-sensei said with a shake of her head. "Now, I can't condone it if you decide to go searching your parents' closets! But yes, go report on a mystery, as long as it's not something you'll get in trouble for. Oh, Kaji-san, while we're here, can you and Shinobu-san see me after class? I have the work you missed yesterday while you were out."

The bell rang just then and the other students got up for lunch. Emi and Hideko made their way up to the front of the class, where the teacher had rolled up her sheet-tablet and was adjusting the ribbon on her side ponytail.

"Hi, Hotaru-sensei," Emi greeted with a bow. "Thank you very much. We're really sorry we couldn't make it back to school yesterday."

Hotaru-sensei clasped her hands. "Oh, no, don't worry! I was concerned when I heard from you. Especially since you still look a little banged up." She indicated the bandage still around Hideko's head.

"School is school," Hideko said. "It still hurts, though. Thanks a lot."

"Yes, thank you, Hotaru-sensei!" Emi held out her hands and Hotaru gave her a bundle of work, then another to Hideko.

Hideko bowed. "Thanks! We'll do this. Oh, Hotaru-sensei, I had a question!"

"Yes?" Hotaru asked. "Is it about school?"

"Not really, but it's important!" she said. "Have you heard of Precure?"

Emi nearly choked on air.

Hotaru blinked a few times. "Precure… oh, I have, actually!"

"Really?" Hideko clasped her hands together. Emi noticed that her eyes were beginning to sparkle again.

"Oh, yes!" The teacher looked up and out the window as if there were something out there. "Mysterious heroines, right? They've been known to appear in the past, but I don't think Nazonazo Town has ever had any. The most interesting thing people say about Precure is that they might be related to the theory of alternate worlds! Are you wanting to do your project on Precure?"

Hideko was already scribbling all this down. "I've been thinking about it. Thank you very much, Hotaru-sensei! I'll let you know how it goes!"

Once they were out of the classroom, Emi looked over at Hideko and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Was all that really okay to ask, Hideko-chan?"

"Of course!" Hideko said. "If Rei-chan was able to be totally honest with your parents, then I should be clear about it too! Besides, a world-famous detective asks all the hard-hitting questions, and an investigator doesn't back away from the mystery. If we want to help Rei-chan, we have to know!"

Emi sighed a little and smiled. "When you put it that way, you're right. Rei-chan seems really lost here. Aside from that, we're protecting Nazonazo Town now, and you're involved, too, even if you aren't a Precure."

"I could be one," Hideko shrugged. "But I guess I'd have to ask Edel and Rei-chan to use one of their spare Pre-Cubes, right? Maybe that would help all of us."

Emi nodded. "Rei-chan is kind of a mystery herself, isn't she?"

"You've got it." Hideko returned to scribbling notes while walking.

* * *

><p>This was pretty fun, actually.<p>

Rei and Edel went indoors to warm up and eat the lunch Emi had packed for her. (Chopsticks were still hard to figure out.) They leafed through any materials they could find at the local library that mentioned Precure, though they mainly just turned up old newspaper articles, and none even from Nazonazo Town. They wandered into an old, worn-down arcade and picked up some coins from the ground. Less people asked about Edel than they thought, but they still got a lot of strange looks when they asserted that Edel wasn't a robot like that other fairy wandering around. Hours of searching passed, and soon they found themselves following the light-up map that Rei projected again from Emi's bracelet.

"Miu would really like this place," Rei said softly. "The games in that arcade had some puzzles I've never seen before. She'd be proud of me trying to learn how to solve them in case of a Hanjir attack."

Edel nestled into Rei's bag, faer head poking out. "Do you think it's time to go to the school yet, I think?"

Rei didn't even double-take at the fairy's idea of sentence structure. "Isn't Emi supposed to have one of those holo-mails set to automatically come to the bracelet when it's time?"

"She just called it a 'memo', I think," Edel said, headscratching. "It should be-"

The bracelet buzzed and Rei startled. She brushed her fingers over it and fumbled with the holographic buttons to open the message.

"Speaking of whom." She exhaled. "Let's go to the school. By the time we get there, those club activities she said they have afterwards will be over."

As they walked off, a figure followed behind them.

* * *

><p>When Rei got there, Emi and Hideko were standing outside the gate as the other students were filing out. Emi looked over and waved until Rei ran over, Edel in tow.<p>

"You made it!" She smiled and held out her hand. Rei undid the bracelet and gave it back to Emi. "Thank you," she said. "We've got a lot to tell you!"

"I found another mystery!" Hideko pointed proudly up above them.

Rei turned her head up. There, hanging from a bare cherry tree, was a checkered scarf. She looked back at the other two. "That's a mystery?"

"Well, it's more like a minor mystery. A side case compared to the whole Precure thing. Anyway, whoever lost this scarf probably wants it back," Hideko explained. "So that's where we come in! But, Rei-chan, did you find anything about your sister?"

"Not much." Rei's shoulders slumped.

Edel popped out of the bag. "Don't worry, we saw some things that are bound to help, I think!"

Behind the four of them, a high voice gave a dramatic yawn.

They turned. In front of the group, waving away the air, was a girl in a short shoulder cape with a peaked hood. She twirled her hair around her finger with her other hand.

"You Precure," she began, "are the most _boring_ people I have ever met in my life."

"Careful!" Rei handed Edel in the bag over to Hideko and stood in front of them. "That cloak and the maze symbol on her top! She's a Metamaster!"

The girl pulled her hood back and laughed. "Obviously! My name's Tetya. More importantly, you just made me waste my whole day!"

Emi was already pulling her Pre-Cube from her school tote. She stopped. "Wait, waste your day?"

"Yeah!" Tetya stomped on the frosty road. "It took way too long to find your friend here, because apparently she can't just stay in one place and this town was probably designed by, like, dogs or something. I mean, Lady Cryptalla's castle is a maze, but she's allowed! And then you took even longer to meet up because you two were in there! Why does school in the human world have to take so long? At least in the Eight Queens' Lands, we got breaks! And Lady Cryptalla says that, if we're working for her, we don't even have to go to school! I mean, Cubia's too old anyway and Stile is one of those guys who would probably drop out because he thinks it's a good idea, but…"

Emi sweatdropped. "This is a little much… Wait, Hideko-chan! What are you doing?"

Hideko had switched the bag with Edel in it to under her arm and was scribbling notes down. "This tirade is as good as a confession! It's a perfect clue!"

Rei detached her Pre-Cube from her belt loop and twisted it open. "I've had enough! Just tell me what you've done to my sister! Where is she? What about Queen Bianca?"

"I was talking!" Tetya growled. She pulled a little silver ball out from one of the rings in her metallic belt. Before the others could move, she took to the air and tossed it down. "I'm going to give you an extra hard Hanjir out of spite!"

The ball hit the scarf in the tree and merged into it. The scarf flew out and grew, twisting, until it perfectly fit and sealed off the school gate. The light broke off of it, revealing a face on the top. The checkerboard pattern was now an all-white grid, with two black numbered tiles, both reading 2, at different squares.

"Let's see how you do against 2048!" Tetya smirked. "And you can't walk away, you know! What about the school?"

The four looked up over the now-sealed gate. There were still a few people inside the building. Teachers cleaning up, students late after club activities, shouts coming from the gym.

"They're stuck in there?" Emi turned back to Tetya.

"Uh-huh!" she said. "And if you leave anyway, I'm gonna seal off all the other exits, too! If they try climbing the wall, they can face my Hanjir! I've thought of everything! Aren't you impressed?"

"Stop playing around! No real Precure would run from someone like you!" Rei looked over to the others. "Hideko, go hide with Edel. Emi, let's go!"

Hideko hesitated, but nodded and took Edel into the trees. Emi locked eyes with Rei and held up her Pre-Cube.

"Link! Precure Solution!"

They opened their Pre-Cubes, exchanged pieces, and transformed in a flash. Hideko watched from the trees, eyes wide and taking notes. The two Precure did their signature poses.

"A secret protector, Cure Cipher!"

"Creating a new image, Cure Jigsaw!"

Tetya crossed her legs and sat mid-air, floating. "Pink? Ew. Come on, solve the Hanjir already!"

Rei approached it cautiously. "It's not moving to attack…"

"Duh!" Tetya rolled her eyes. "You people are so stupid. If I don't need the Hanjir to move, it doesn't move. The only reason they attack you is to make you solve them."

"Wait!" Emi looked between Rei and Tetya. "They only attack for attention?"

"Ughhhh!" Tetya tugged her hood down over her head, thrashing about. "Just solve the stupid thing or I'll make it flatten you!"

At this, the Hanjir loomed over them and lunged down to do just that. Cipher put her arms up and held, trying to keep it up. "Jigsaw!"

Jigsaw had scrambled to the floor. She looked up and took a deep breath.

"All right! If I'm going to be a Precure, then I'll do my best!"

She leapt up, punching the Hanjir, almost through the gate. Just as the Precure were fistpumping, it grew arms and pulled itself back into the gate, then tipped forward menacingly.

"No fair cheating." Tetya shook a finger. "Remember the school?"

Cipher pulled the punch she was about to throw and skidded to a stop. She hesitated and looked at the occupied school.

"...Fine. We'll play your game for now."

Jigsaw eyed the Hanjir and held a hand out. Light gathered in it and formed a chain.

"Precure Jigsaw Rainbow!" She whipped out the chain, lashing the Hanjir to the sides of the gate. It struggled but stayed in place. Cure Jigsaw stepped cautiously toward the monster and touched one of the numbered tiles.

"I can do this." She took a deep breath. "Or at least I can try." She brushed her hand over it to the side. The tile merged into the other one; the two 2 tiles became a 4. A few squares away, another 2 appeared.

"All right." Cipher turned her attention to Tetya. "Then I can deal with you!"

Hideko watched from behind a tree, holding onto the bag. Without taking her eyes off the others, she whispered to Edel, "Is it always like this for Precure?"

"I haven't seen them in person very often, but yes, I think." Edel looked, wavering, up at Hideko. "All Precure are strong, fast, agile, and have magical powers. But usually, in the Eight Queens' Lands, they're in teams of two or more. Mostly two, with one to fight the Hanjir while the other solves it."

She watched Cure Cipher leap at Tetya, who flailed and portaled out of the way before trading blows and ducking. She watched Cure Jigsaw on the ground, moving the tiles, gasping when one popped up in the wrong place, starting to sweat.

"Can't I do anything?" Hideko held Edel and the weight in Rei's bag.

Cipher landed on a tree branch, only to jump forward and lunge at Tetya. "What did you do with Miu?"

Tetya ducked her punch and shoved her away. "Ugh! Even if I knew where your partner was or if we did anything, why would I just outright tell you?"

The tiles were starting to pile up on Jigsaw's end. She frantically chased the bigger numbers, combining tiles. Stuck in the corner, she shunted everything to the right, only for another 2 to appear right in the bottom corner where she'd been keeping the largest tile.

"Oh, no… I knew I couldn't do it if it wasn't all laid out!"

The monster growled and struggled at its bonds. She punched it hard enough to crack. For a moment, the screen went blank.

"Jigsaw?" Cipher turned to look at her. Tetya took the opportunity to raise her leg and axe-kick her down to the road.

"Cure Cipher!" The pink Cure ran to her blue counterpart, then looked back. The tiles blinked back, but the punch had shifted the tiles in the wrong direction. The screen was full.

No more moves.

"No…"

Hideko struggled for words. Suddenly, she stepped out. "Emi-chan! Look out!"

The Hanjir flickered. It strained and snapped Cure Jigsaw's rainbow chains and they disappeared into light. As the downed Cures looked over, it gave a roar.

"Aww, you lost?" Tetya twisted her hanging piece of hair around her finger. "What a waste. Rules are rules. Hanjir!"

The Hanjir growled and grew past the confines of its space, crumbling the school gate walls. It started to tip forward to crush the two.

"Stop it!"

The Hanjir looked. Cipher and Jigsaw looked. Tetya looked.

Standing there was Hideko, there guarding the others. Edel and the bag were still by the tree, but Hideko had run there and was glaring down Tetya.

"Give them another chance." She breathed in quickly, running on adrenaline. "Games like this always give you more tries. Why not? Cure Cipher and Cure Jigsaw are strong and they're smart. It isn't a waste!"

Jigsaw helped Cipher to her feet. They looked up, caught the Hanjir, and shoved it back into place. In unison, they turned to face Tetya.

"Hideko-chan's right!" Jigsaw said. "We'll never let you trap the school, even if we have to do this all over again."

"We'll fight you a thousand times!" Cipher tightened her fists. "Miu, Queen Bianca, both this world and the Eight Queens' Lands, they're all counting on us!"

Tetya crossed her arms. "No way! It'd just be the same thing, just fighting you two over and over again. I have better things to do with my time!"

"What if it's not the same?" Hideko shivered as she stood. "What if they had help?"

Cipher's eyes widened. "You don't mean-" She stopped. Hideko was holding the orange Pre-Cube from the bag she'd given her to hold.

Hideko looked behind her shoulder at Cipher with a smile. "Rei-chan, I know these Pre-Cubes are from your queen for that other queen's Precure, and maybe you only need one partner. But I want to help! So can I borrow it like Emi-chan's borrowing hers, just for a little while?"

Edel waved faer little arms. "It's okay, Cipher, I think! There are groups of more than two Precure already, and more people can help you, I think!"

Cipher took a deep breath.

"Jigsaw, let's disengage."

"Huh?" Jigsaw put her hands to her combined pin. "Detransform?"

Cipher nodded and took her pin apart. Her uniform reverted to the white transformation dress. She gave a smile. "After all, Hideko needs to transform with us, doesn't she?"

Jigsaw smiled wide and plucked hers apart. "Okay!"

Hideko twisted her Pre-Cube open. The three of them were enveloped in light.

"Link! Precure Solution!"

Hideko pinned on one half of her own brooch, which was orange and shaped like a heart. She exchanged her other half with Emi, who gave her the half of the blue circle from Rei and locked the orange half-heart into her own piece. Rei snapped her own piece back together again, half blue circle and half pink jigsaw puzzle. The pins, now mixed and matched, sprung their three-layer bows. Rei and Emi went through their regular motions to regain their uniforms, with Hideko twirling along with them; her brown hair turned pastel orange and twisted itself up into braided loops, with braided pieces growing in front of her ears and fastened with heart shapes. Her uniform was orange, she wore ankle boots with a thin heel, and her off-shoulder sleeves fluttered as they and her bright wristbands appeared. When she opened her eyes, once red, they were a deep orange. The light broke off of the trip and they found themselves in regular time again.

"A secret protector!" Rei covered half of her face and then uncovered it with a sweeping gesture. "Cure Cipher!"

"Creating a new image!" Emi set one arm gracefully to her side and did a light fistpump with the other. "Cure Jigsaw!"

"Finding the true meaning!" Hideko made a binoculars gesture over her eyes. "Cure Riddle!"

The three looked at each other. Riddle slowly took it in, breathing. She clasped her hands together and squeaked, surrounded by an aura of sparkles again.

"A real Precure! This is amazing! Not exactly an impartial position, but perfect for investigation!"

Edel clapped. "Having three Precure is great, I think!"

"All right, Riddle!" Jigsaw clapped. "Let's get that Hanjir dealt with!"

"Fine, fine." Tetya rolled her eyes and snapped. The Hanjir reverted to its previous size, the wall rebuilding itself around it, and restarted the game. "Just get it done this time!"

Cipher locked eyes with her, making her flinch. "You don't have to worry about that!"

The game ran much quicker. Cipher punched the Hanjir to stun it and Jigsaw chained it up. Riddle shifted some tiles and knocked the Hanjir when it started to thrash again, then Jigsaw took over, with Cipher offering uncertain advice. 512 was in the bottom left corner in no time.

Tetya hovered behind them. "Ugh, it's cold out here. Couldn't you guys have met up somewhere, you know, indoors? Or could we at least have tried taking over someplace else? Planets are round! Half of it should be in summer!"

"Do you take anything seriously?" Cure Cipher shot out her arms and gathered rings of glowing code before firing scattered light beams at her. "Precure Cipher Encrypt!"

Tetya shrieked as the light hit her. She flipped back in the air and clutched her singed arm. "I'm out!" In a flash, she stepped back through a portal.

"Wait!" Cipher cried out. She sighed. "I couldn't get her…"

"Don't worry!" Riddle called back at her. "All we need to do is stop this Hanjir! We're nearly there!"

The Hanjir got restless and thrashed again. Jigsaw's chains had worn off this time, and it neatly broke out of the wall and started to whip its scarf edges at the three.

"And she said she didn't need it to attack!" Jigsaw jumped out of the way of a lash that scarred the pavement.

"Typical Metamaster." Cipher ran up and punched it back far enough to skid three meters. "Let's get this done!"

"All right! Let me try something!" Riddle raised her arms in the air and spun. The wind swirled around her and formed a slicing ring that whistled from her to the enemy Hanjir. "Precure… Riddle Twist!"

The Hanjir was caught up and spun in place violently until it stopped, wobbled, and fell over.

"Watch out!" Jigsaw ran over. "What if it's like when I hit it?"

Riddle hopped over to the fallen Hanjir. "Nothing to worry about! See?"

The tiles had moved in just the right way. RIght there, in the corner, were two 1024 tiles.

The three girls looked at it, hesitated, and reached out to touch the playing surface together. With a unified brush of their hands, they made it.

The tiles merged. The Hanjir glowed, shrank, and popped into light, leaving the checkered scarf and a shiny white Clue Key.

* * *

><p>They found the girl who had lost her scarf, a shuffling green-haired student who wouldn't look at them and let the two robots by her side do more of the talking than she did. As the girls watched her leave, they stood together.<p>

"More robot fairies," Rei commented, holding Edel again. "I wonder what kind of connection this world really has to the Precure?"

"We'll find out!" Hideko clipped her Pre-Cube to her bag and gave a V-sign. "With a group like this, the answer can't stay gone for long. And then you'll be able to find your sister and get home!"

Rei exhaled. "Thanks. You really saved us back there, too. I wish Miu were here, but maybe with you all around, we can find her and Nono. I'm sure the Metamasters have taken Queen Bianca, too, with us not there to protect her."

Emi looked sadly over at her. "It'll be okay. We're all here to help, like Hideko-chan said."

"And whatever they want, Precure can stop them, I think!" Edel snuggled into Rei's arms. "You did great today, I think!"

Rei looked up at the sky. "I hope so."

* * *

><p>"Uuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Tetya stormed through the corridors of Cryptalla's castle. "This sucks! I was doing fantastic, and then they had to go and get a new Precure and I thought it would be interesting, but that girl's got a problem with us! We're totally doing the right thing here. It's way better than leaving the Eight Queens to do things normally. But those girls are a total pain!"<p>

"Keep it down." Stile winced and rubbed the back of his head. "Some of us are trying to work. Besides, Lady Cryptalla's been pretty scary lately. You were the one who said you didn't want to tick her off."

"You're totally not helping, Stile." Tetya twitched.

He shrugged. "I do my best."

A portal appeared in the hall. They stood at the side, waiting, but nobody stepped through.

"Cubia?" Stile called. "That you? What's going on?"

"I thought Cubia was still in here." Tetya peered into the portal. "But if it's not her, then… Stile, check this out! What's that?"

He came over to look. For a moment, they both stared into the portal no one seemed to have opened.

Somebody was floating inside.

* * *

><p>Hideko: Time for… what else?<p>

Everyone: Puzzle Hunt Comment Corner! (Edel: I think!)

Tetya: Ugh, this took forever to write! How much time does the author think she has, anyway?

Edel: But her last story took a really long time and this one's moving faster, I think!

Rei: There's a lot being laid down here that will be important in future episodes. More importantly, though, we have a new Precure and all the Metamasters have been introduced.

Emi: I'm supposed to make an official announcement that Hotaru-sensei is not and was never a Precure and the author isn't using that same plot device again. Is that something people would think?

Hideko: Probably! But there's plenty of evidence here for things that definitely will happen, so make sure to watch!

Stile: See you all next time.


	4. Emi's Admirer! Cure Tangram Joins In!

Over the past month, Rei had been settling in well enough, or at least that was what the others said. Since she didn't have anywhere else to stay and didn't go to school, Emi's family had taken her in in exchange for her working spare hours at the Shinobu Bookshop. Getting used to the computers had taken time, but either the parents or Keisuke usually took care of the online orders, so Rei was often in the front of the store with the customers who arrived in person. So sue her. The Eight Queens' Lands hadn't had Internet.

They also hadn't had these strange electronic papery things that Rei was currently checking out the display for. She cautiously practiced rolling one up to put it into sleep mode, then unrolled it and typed in the store password to bring it to life again.

"Why are these called tablets, anyway? They don't resemble one at all. I was thinking of something more like a slab, or maybe like those ancient Precure artifacts." She turned to Edel, who was currently folding one into a diamond shape and dividing the apps into four different windows in the corners. At least someone was catching on to new technology.

Edel looked up and scratched faers ear. "I'm not sure, I think. Are you asking if maybe they should be called papers, I think?"

"Something like that." Rei smiled a little and went back to trying to figure out the sheet-thin machine. "I can't believe you can fit every book in the store into one of these. No wonder they sell more that way than the physical kind..."

The store phone rang and the bracelet Rei was wearing suddenly flashed. Emi and Hideko had tracked her down a secondhand one, a little bigger than Emi's, and with the Shinobu family's help, they set it up so Rei could use it with the house and store's automations. Rei brushed the blue stone and brought up the holographic menu, then selected the phone option. Emi and Hideko appeared, waving from their desks with their lunch boxes.

"Hi!"

"Emi, Hideko." Rei waved back. She thought of something and tensed. "Isn't this the store phone? Is it an emergency?"

Emi bit her lip. "Kinda-sorta. Maybe. It could just be nothing, but..."

"Could be," Hideko said. "But we know the Metamasters know who we are and where we go to school, so it could be an emergency, too. We're going to need you over here after you're done working."

Edel abandoned the tablet fae had been playing with and scrambled over to Rei. "An attack, I think?"

Emi took a deep breath. "I got an unsigned note telling me to go behind the school after class. It might just be another love letter, but I'd like all of you to come with me just in case."

* * *

><p>Puzzle Hunt Precure<p>

Episode 4: Emi's Admirer! Cure Tangram Joins In!

* * *

><p>"I don't see anything."<p>

Rei, still wearing her Shinobu Bookshop apron over civilian clothes, pressed her back against the edge of the school's greenhouse and sidled along until she could peer around the corner. The back of the school was empty save for a frozen, hard alley of dormant grass and leafless bushes. She quickly pulled her head back behind the wall.

Emi bowed slightly. "Thank you for coming, Rei-chan. Hideko-chan, Edel, you too. There's really nobody out there?"

"Nobody, I think!" Edel whispered from Rei's shoulder.

"No sign of the Metamasters, anyway…" Rei shivered and rubbed her arms. "What do you think, Hideko? You said you'd been investigating all day."

Hideko flipped back the pages of her notebook and ran down her notes. "The handwriting looked a little like three or four different samples from schoolwork posted by various classes around our grade, but it didn't look like anyone from class 3 and the samples I did get weren't close enough. But then, they might have been trying to disguise their writing. If it is a normal student, maybe their club practice ran late, or maybe they're shy and waiting for Emi-chan to come out so they aren't standing alone and advertising that they've been stood up if she doesn't show. But then again, everyone knows Emi-chan answers all her love letters. If she doesn't like someone that way, she'll just tell them in person."

Emi blushed. "I haven't found someone I'm really happy with yet, so..."

"And if it is the Metamasters, they might be waiting for her to show up alone." Hiseko shut the book. "So I'm thinking Emi-chan goes out, whoever it shows up thinking she's alone, and Rei-chan and I stay back and jump in to help when something goes wrong. Or if."

Emi bit her lip and hesitated before nodding. "I'm sure it's fine. I trust you, Hideko-chan. You too, Rei-chan."

Rei's eyes glazed over at that. Edel cautiously poked her face.

"Rei? You're thinking about something else, I think."

Rei startled with a jump that would have thrown Edel had fae not been clinging to her shirt with faers other paw. She caught her breath and picked the fairy off her shoulder.

"Sorry. I'm sorry," she said. "I was just wondering how Miu would have handled this. Do you want to try it?"

"Of course! It's the best way to figure out what happens next." Emi gave a smile and turned around to walk out.

When she looked, someone new had wandered around the other side of the school. A girl with straight olive green hair pulled back by a white Alice band was walking with her eyes pointed up at the air, mumbling something as she pulled her checkered scarf around her. Her face was the colour of cherry wood tinged with a red blush that Emi wasn't sure was from the cold. What drew Emi to continue forward were the girl's two companions. Those weren't humans or animals hovering on each side of her. They were fuzzy, rounded creatures, one blue and one orange, with dimly lit electronic eyes and projecting holographic displays from their paws. Almost like…

"That's the girl with the robot fairies, I think," Edel whispered to the others from behind the greenhouse. "From the day Hideko became a Precure, I think!"

"I've seen her around a few times," Hideko replied. "I think she's from class 5. The robots are her accommodation aids."

The girl was wandering and talking, still not really looking at either of her two 'fairies'.

"You can do this. She can't be too mad," she said. "Not like Nuriko-san in first year, I mean, she was just inconvenienced because she was moving away, you know? Okay. I just need to… I need my words, Caramel-chan."

Her orange fairy hovered in front of her and holographically projected lines of text. She started to relax and held the blue fairy close to her, petting it.

Emi approached and the first fairy turned its head.

The girl jumped a little and let go of the second. She bowed. "H-hello, Shinobu-san!" Her face was glowing red.

Emi smiled gently, not only out of relief. She bowed back.

"It's nice to meet you. Are you the one who called me over here? I was a little worried because the letter wasn't signed."

"It- you were worried? Like, apprehensive, or did you mean perturbed because you couldn't discern the identity of who sent it?" The green-haired girl's mouth dropped open. She clung to her blue fairy and stroked its head faster, breathing quickly. "I'm sorry! I never thought for a second that that would be a problem!"

The orange fairy shut off what it had been displaying and turned fully to face Emi. "Chika-chan is very shy," it chirped. "She was afraid to sign her name in case you were going to turn her down, so it wouldn't embarrass her."

"Caramel-chan!" Chika's face turned redder. She shrank into herself. "I know I programmed you to give clear and full explanations, but…"

Emi giggled. "Don't worry! I'm really sorry if I gave off that kind of impression. You seem like a nice person. So you're…?"

The other girl took a deep breath and kept stroking the blue robot's flocked outer shell. "Senri Chika. And these are some of the Candy Cluster, my electronic aides."

The blue one's electronic eyes blinked and it smiled. "I am Senri 01, Aquamarine Lollipop. Personal assistant device!"

"Senri 06, Spessartite Caramel!" The orange one gave a little wave. "Chika-chan built us to assist her with creating a calm environment and recording and interpreting the world."

From behind the greenhouse, Rei watched with wide eyes. "She can just build all those herself?" she whispered. "And that green one we saw in town running errands must have been hers, too!"

Hideko watched with both hands clamped over her mouth to prevent a squee from releasing. Her sparkle aura was taking up a three-meter radius.

Emi nodded along. "Wow… that's amazing, Senri-san! You must be really talented."

"I'm just personally invested," Chika said. "I love robots, and, um, Precure, too. If you haven't heard of them, that's okay. Ah, Precure, I mean. Everyone's heard of robots."

"Precure?" Emi blinked.

Rei, Hideko, and Edel stacked their heads on top of each other peering around the edge of the greenhouse to listen in.

"I know, it's weird. Well, a lot of people say it's weird. Precure are these girls who have appeared in a bunch of different places throughout history to fight threats we don't know anything about. The Candy Cluster are all based on the fairies everyone says appear with them. I'm not sure if you'd understand, but it's okay. I'll try not to talk your ear off. People don't like that."

"Oh, no! That's really interesting, Senri-san." Emi shook her head. Pause. "Oh! You wanted to ask me something, right? Don't worry, you can."

Chika froze. Spessartite Caramel nuzzled her and she started to pet Aquamarine Lollipop again. She breathed in and out once more and steeled herself.

"Shinobu-san… Please go with me to the Winter Festival!"

Rei facevaulted. "So it really was a love confession."

"Hey, these things happen," Hideko said, writing in her notebook again. "And hey, if it goes well and we see her again, maybe we can find out about those fairies now!"

Edel patted Rei on the head.

* * *

><p>Cubia leafed through a folder of notes, dipping a feather in a blue ink bottle on occasion and writing over them. On her desk was a hand-drawn map of Nazonazo Town with a number of areas circled and some small coloured stones, like card game counters, standing on parts of the map. Blue showed up around the streets more often, with orange and pink usually in or around the school. All three appeared in what looked to be the Shinobu Bookshop. A note rested on top of the map, with its ornate handwriting saying something about popular events that drew a lot of young girls.<p>

"Well, well…"

Cubia smirked and set down her folder. The paper it was open to was a torn-out piece of newspaper with a picture of an ice sculpture and a group of schoolgirls with hot drinks. The caption read, "Nazonazo Town Winter Festival".

_This should be perfect_, she thought, and that was enough. Lady Cryptalla trusted her enough to make her own plans, and she certainly didn't need the approval of the boy and the brat.

Where were those two, anyway?

* * *

><p>In a hidden-away corner of Cryptalla's castle, Stile wrung out a towel with a sigh, moving past Tetya and over to the medical ward bed they'd smuggled in. On it lay an unconscious girl in a formal dress and a little fairy beside her. As he changed out the towels on their foreheads, a crack of sun from the small window lit up their faces.<p>

It was Takaraike Miu and Nono.

"Can't believe they're still not up yet." Stile rolled his eyes and tossed the used towels into a laundry cart they'd set up to block the door. "The other one's been running around in that human world for a month!"

"Duh, Stile." Tetya popped bubble gum and twirled her front lock of hair around her finger. "When that portal opened up in the castle, they'd been flung around in the space between worlds for, like, a day. Those gravity forces can kill you. Geez, it's like you never learn anything."

Stile grimaced. "Give me a break! We don't even have to go to school now that we're part of the Metamasters. Besides, I totally know how to take care of injured people, and that's what we need right now."

Tetya sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs, pointed away from Stile. "I still don't know why we don't just tell her. I mean, Lady Cryptalla wanted the Precure to join us back then, didn't she? I mean, before the whole 'change of plans, let's go attack this new world' thing."

"Lady Cryptalla has more than enough problems right now." Stile groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Ever since she barred the castle dungeon and stopped letting people in there, not that anyone really went down there anyway, she's been really serious. She wouldn't even tell me the reason behind, well, anything about the new plan. Besides, if we help this one recover and then maybe just tell her everything when she wakes up, she might start helping us instead. Bam! Less trouble for Lady Cryptalla, less trouble for us."

"Yeah, like it's gonna be that easy." Tetya said. "But I guess I might as well keep this secret and help Cure Banana or whatever so she'll owe us. I mean, only because Lady Cryptalla's way serious now and Cubia just ruins everything fun."

Stile groaned. "You're a joy as always. Besides, Cure Banana? She's Cure Lock! A banana's not even a puzzle!"

"I can never remember any of them!" Tetya retorted. "Lock is a weird name for a yellow Precure, anyway. She should be called something else. What about Cure Gold?"

Eye roll. "Look, I'm at least trying to take this seriously. I don't know about you."

"Uuuuuuuugggggghhhhhh." Tetya got up, shoved the laundry cart out of the way, and stomped off. "Seriously, you're a total idiot for someone who's always acting cool."

Stile scratched his head. "Why did I even bother asking her?" He got up and followed, shutting the door behind him.

Nono shivered beside the pillow and began to stir.

* * *

><p>"I'll definitely go with you!" Emi told Chika. The green-haired girl was shying away from eye contact, but her face brightened just the same, so Emi smiled.<p>

"Thank you very much! I'll be sure to attend!" Chika bowed. Her robots did the same and then turned to her, flashing a brief message. She blushed. "Ah… um, well, I also wanted to know where we should meet up. I mean, it's in three days, and I'd suggest the front gate of the temple but everybody's going to be convening there, and, um."

"Well, why not the cherry tree? It's recognizable." Emi made a note to apologize to the others for dragging them out here. Senri-san didn't look like an enemy. Over the other girl's shoulder, she noticed two girls approaching around the side of the building, the white-haired girl wheeling the blonde's chair over.

"Oh, Senri-san!" One of them waved. "And… Shinobu from class 3?"

Chika turned around, red-faced. "I, ah, th-this is…"

The standing one let go of the other's chair and pumped her fists. "Yes! Tell me you asked her out. The Class 5 betting pool depends on it!"

The girl in the wheelchair craned her neck up and glared. "Meiko, that was supposed to be a secret! You know how nervous Senri gets."

The girl named Meiko rubbed the back of her head. "Ahaha… I messed up again. Sorry, Taiga-chan."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to her!"

Chika shook, clinging again to Aquamarine Lollipop. Spessartite Caramel moved in front of her. She gave a pleading look just over Emi's head. "Th-these are my classmates from class 5! I'm sorry for the trouble, Shinobu-san!"

Emi clasped her hands gently and shook her head. "Don't worry, Senri-san. I'll see you on Sunday, all right? You don't have to stick around if you don't want to."

Chika took a deep breath and relaxed a little. "Thank you! Ah, I won't detain you too long. I'll see you!" She turned and bowed in the direction of the other girls. "And I'll see you two in class!" She ran off with the two fairy automatons.

Taiga twitched up at Meiko. "Now look what you did."

Hideko walked over, shaking her head and toting Rei along with Edel in her bag. "How's it going, Emi-chan?"

"I'm relieved," she admitted. "Senri-san just wanted to ask me to the Winter Festival, so it wasn't an emergency. Thank you for coming just in case, though."

"It wasn't a problem," Rei said, lightly touching the Pre-Cube clipped to her belt.

Hideko's attention turned to the two other girls. "You're from Class 5, right? Are you Senri-san's friends?"

"Acquaintances, kind of," Taiga said. "And yeah, we're from Class 5. Like you couldn't tell." She indicated her wheelchair.

"Senri-san's pretty shy," Meiko volunteered. "But her robots are adorable! She says they're related to this thing she likes, this, uh, Print Club thing."

"Precure," Taiga corrected. "Short for 'Pretty Cure' or something like that. She talks about it to everyone she meets."

"Precure fairies," Rei mused, casting a glance inside the bag at Edel. "How does she know about them?"

Emi looked nervously at her, then at the two civilian girls. "Senri-san did mention that. Do you know anything?"

Hideko leaned in. "I'd love to know. See, I'm doing a project on Precure for class."

"You'd have to ask her for that," Taiga said. "All I remember is that she made all those robots of hers to look like the fairies they apparently always have."

"They're not just her hobby, they're her class aids, too!" Meiko leaned forward, hanging on her friend's chair's bars. "She pets their fur to calm down and they help her understand stuff and pay attention. And they run errands for her. She's, like, artistic or something?"

"You mean autistic." Taiga rolled her eyes. "Think before you talk, Meiko."

"Okay! She's that."

"But she's nice, though?" Hideko pressed. "Just asking for my friend's sake."

Emi clapped her hands to her face. "Hideko-chan…"

"Of course! Shy, but nice." Meiko giggled. "Oh, hey, Taiga-chan, weren't we going to do something?"

"Yes. The karaoke bar." The blonde rested her head back against the back of her chair. "Nice meeting you girls. Good luck at the festival!"

After the two left, Rei, Hideko, Emi, and Edel all looked at each other.

"Isn't that project due in two days?" Emi asked.

Hideko rubbed the back of her head. "Well, yes, but it's a plausible line of questioning."

Rei's gaze rested in the direction in which Chika had run off.

* * *

><p>Chika headed back to the shining white high-rise positively beaming. She hugged both of her fairies before keying in the code at the door and meandering into the elevator. The apartment she entered had a flowery handmade sign listing off names: "SENRI - Kaji &amp; Isabela + Chika" and then eight robots' names underneath.<p>

"She really did say yes!" This was again not directed at either fairy in particular. "I mean, considering the precedent, the odds were that she would, but, you know, the trepidation here is kind of inevitable. ...Interested in Precure."

A third fairy, the green one Rei and Edel had met before, flew in through what looked like a dog door in the wall carrying a grocery bag. "Emerald Chewing Gum arriving!" It placed the bag down on the kitchen counter and hovered over to the group.

Spessartite Caramel put out a paw and beamed information at it. "Data transfer," it chirped.

Chika suddenly turned to the robotic fairies. "I'm completely metagrobolized. Do you think she's really interested in Precure? Or was she just being polite?"

"It's difficult to say," Aquamarine Lollipop said without inflection. "More study required."

"She didn't say enough to tell," Spessartite Caramel added.

Chika sighed and sank into a kitchen chair. "You're right. Is Pan-chan around? I need help to study for tonight."

A purple fairy robot flew in with a rolled-up tablet in hand. "Amethyst Pan Candy arriving! Study space has been cleared. Senri family's schedules dictate absence. Ruby Jellybean accompanying them to notify of any changes in schedule."

"Thanks, Pan-chan." Chika petted the purple fairy's head. "I really hope it's okay. I mean, with, I mean, I hope Shinobu-san and I have fun at the festival."

"Adjust schedule to allow for more attendants with you at Winter Festival?" Amethyst Pan Candy tilted its head up.

"Maybe." Chika touched her face, blushing. "Just in case."

* * *

><p>When the Winter Festival started, Chika's nerves had driven her to not only bring one or two extra attendant fairy-bots but a whole entourage. Emi counted eight when she arrived at the gate.<p>

"You remember Caramel-chan and Lollipop-chan, right?" Chika was looking away from her and petting one of the fairies. "The others here are the remainder of my Candy Cluster! Every one of them has a main job, and they're always communicating with each other, so they can help me and everyone around me. Ruby Jellybean usually monitors for anything that might go wrong or if anything's changing. Usually it goes around with my family or somebody else. Citrine Lemondrop filters all my phone calls and helps me script my responses so I don't say something silly or freeze up. That happens a lot. Does it happen to you? It's helpful with my homework, too! Amethyst Pan Candy schedules things for me and Emerald Chewing Gum and Zircon Peppermint usually run errands for us. This little black one's Spinel Cake Pop! I just built it recently, and I'm not sure where it fits yet, but I found some new information on Precure fairies and I needed to make one that was more realistic."

Emi nodded along and made a note of them all. "This is something you're really interested in, right?"

"Y-yes!" Chika put a hand up to her face. "Am I talking too much? I'm sorry, I'm talking too much."

"No, no, it's okay!" Emi waved her hands. "Since you invited me out, I'd like to hear about you and what kind of person you are, and the kinds of things you like are important, too! Robots look really interesting, honestly."

Spessartite Caramel turned to Chika. The clear little screen-button on its collar flashed "True".

She relaxed a little.

* * *

><p>Some booths away, Hideko walked up to a bundled-up Rei with some fresh takoyaki.<p>

"Here you go! You can't have a festival without it."

"Ah, thank you." Rei gratefully took one. "Hideko… are we just here to investigate that girl Emi's on a date with? That's a little intrusive."

"Rei-chan, Rei-chan!" Hideko shook her head. "That's fifth or sixth on the priority list right now. I'm thinking like a serious Precure, like you!"

"A serious Precure?" Rei asked. "How?"

"Tons of people come to the Winter Festival." Hideko popped another steaming takoyaki ball in her mouth and gestured around at the crowds in jackets playing carnival games. "You said that the Metamasters like getting attention, right? Besides, if something happens while Emi-chan's out without another Precure, we'll be able to cover for her. We've got Edel running around the festival to pass us any information we missed, too!"

Rei nodded. "You really do think of everything. An investigator on the team is helpful."

"Well, this is a big case, isn't it?" Hideko offered more takoyaki. "And we both do need to get out more!"

"I guess so." Rei hesitated and took another one. Her gaze turned to Emi, her date, and the cluster of fabricated fairies accompanying said date. "About that girl, though… Are you really trying to see what she's about, or was that a joke? Is it because she knows about Precure?"

"That too. But it's also because Emi-chan is my good friend."

"Huh?"

Hideko gave an emphatic nod. "It takes work, but friendships need to stay together when your friend starts dating someone. So why not try and get to know them? I haven't talked to Senri-san yet, but she already seems a lot better than some of the people Emi-chan's dated. I mean, she answers every single love letter. The last guy she went out with just wanted to copy off her homework. Before that, she spent a week dating the girl who goes around mooching everyone's pencil graphite."

"That makes sense." Rei paused between bites. "Hideko… you're not in love with Emi, are you?"

Hideko nearly choked with laughter. She waved her free hand. "No way! You've been watching too many daytime dramas. Is there nothing else on when we're at school and you're not working?"

Rei blushed. "It was just an idea."

* * *

><p>Emi and Chika were walking along side by side, some space between them and each holding her own cotton candy. Chika rambled along as they walked.<p>

"Precure are supposed to be legendary warriors, and they've appeared in all manner of places and times, but nobody knows who they are or where they came from!" she said. "Actually, not many people know about them at all."

Emi thought. "That's true, I didn't know about them. But Hotaru-sensei knew a little when we asked, and there were some results when we tried an Internet search."

"Mainly enthusiast sites without much information, right?" Chika petted one of her fairies. "There isn't a lot out there, and some people like to try and prove they don't exist. But with all the information I've been able to get, I'm sure they're out there. Maybe there's even an active Precure team or two out now! They usually take a while to be discovered."

Emi laughed nervously. "You must be an expert, right? I suppose I do have some questions…"

"Really? Like-"

"Hello, Nazonazo Town!" A voice boomed from speakers, followed by cheering.

Chika screamed, dropped her cotton candy, and clapped her hands over her ears, knees bent to either sink or run. The Candy Cluster snapped into two rings around her.

"The concert must be starting on the main stage!" Emi turned her head to Chika and her mouth dropped open. "Senri-san? What's going on?"

"Too much!" Aquamarine Lollipop chirped. "Quiet area needed."

"Senri-san hates loud things?" Emi's head whipped up and around. She pointed in the distance. "Let's get closer to the shrine!"

The fairy-bots made a line. Chika forced herself up and nodded. She, Emi, and her entourage bolted to a less overwhelming area.

A figure in an opera cape turned to watch. In the bushes, a small creature - Edel - gasped and ran off.

* * *

><p>Chika and Emi, with the flock of fairies following behind them, ran to the shrine at the edge of the festival grounds and stumbled to a stop. Emi rest her hand on a large cherry tree, bare of leaves for now, to breathe.<p>

Chika cautiously removed her hands from her ears. She breathed in and out slowly. One of her assistant robots hovered over into her arms for her to pet.

"Senri-san?"

She stiffened. Slowly, she looked up and to the side of Emi.

"I'm sorry, Shinobu-san. It's just, I mean, it's overwhelming."

Emi paused. Carefully and slowly, she held out her cotton candy.

"Here, because you dropped yours."

Chika blushed. For that matter, Emi thought she saw some of the robots' faces light up pink, too. She reached out and plucked off a piece of the candy fluff.

"Thank you," Chika said. "It must be irritating to be invited somewhere and then have the person who asked you not be able to deal with it. I've got my Candy Cluster, but even so, I need to rest."

"No, it's okay!" Emi shook her head. "If you need to get away for a while, let's stay here. Is that okay with you?"

One of the fairies hovered by Chika and flashed some information readouts. Emi noticed now, away from the lanterns, that it was getting dark enough that she couldn't tell the Candy Cluster apart.

Chika took a deep breath. "Yes. Thank you. I mean. I knew you were really nice to everyone, but I'm just, ah, thank you."

Emi held the cotton candy out and took a piece herself. "I don't really think I'm that great. You sound a little like Hideko-chan."

One of the fairies shifted in the air towards Emi. "Chika-chan admires you greatly. She even would have joined the geography club were she not so invested in the robotics club!"

Chika nearly choked on her cotton candy. "Caramel-chan!"

What must have been Spessartite Caramel gave an innocent look as it checked on Chika's vitals.

Emi put a hand to her own face. "But really, Senri-san. You have your robots, something you're really passionate about. Hideko-chan wants to be a detective. Even our new friend Rei-chan has a goal in mind to save her sister. But me, I…"

"You really are good!" Chika said. "I feel lost a lot of the time, too! Maybe we can help you!"

They were silent for a while.

Until their ears picked up the clunk of platform heels on the stones.

"Well, this was easy."

Chika jumped up and covered her mouth, eyes gaping. The Candy Cluster moved around her, some setting themselves up as a shield. Emi turned around and looked past the tre at the woman approaching.

"Cubia!" Emi's hand went to her purse.

Cubia pulled a little silver ball out of the crown braid at the back of her head. She smirked at the girl she recognized and her startled date.

"You Precure don't even hide yourselves, do you?"

She stopped a few paces away. Her eyes fixed on Chika, burning into her mind. Chika squirmed and averted her gaze. The Candy Cluster hovered protectively in front of her. Cubia continued.

"Smuggling eight fairies into this world can't have been easy. Now, tell me." She kept staring. "Which queen do you work for?"

"You're making Chika-chan uncomfortable," one of the robotic fairies said, still in its mechanical, chirpy voice.

"'Queen' unrecognized," another said. "Chika-chan does not work for one."

"Hmm?" Cubia rolled the ball between her fingers. "Well, aren't you odd. Tell me the real story."

Emi walked forward, standing with the Candy Cluster. "Stop it, Cubia! Senri-san has nothing to do with the Eight Queens' Lands. This is a misunderstanding!"

Chika took a sharp intake of breath. "Shinobu-san? What's going on?"

Emi spared a look at Chika. When Chika looked away uncomfortably, Emi averted her gaze to the side.

"Senri-san, there's something I haven't told you yet."

Cubia's shoes clunked as she stepped forward. "Well. That is interesting, isn't it? But whether or not you're telling the truth about this girl and her fairies being 'unrelated', the same isn't true for you, Cure Jigsaw."

"Cure?" Chika gasped.

"Cubia!" Rei's voice rang out.

They all turned to look up. Two human girls and one fairy ran up to the scene and caught their breath.

"Rei-chan! Hideko-chan! Edel!" Emi called out.

Rei already had her Pre-Cube out. "We'll take care of this, Emi."

Hideko stuffed her notebook into the folds of her yukata and pulled out her own Pre-Cube. "So don't worry about it!"

"New fairy?" Ruby Jellybean scanned Edel. "Not a recognized automaton. Signs of life."

Edel tilted faers head. "I'm definitely real, I think."

"A real Precure fairy," Chika whispered. "And enemies. And Precure. I knew the stories and the old news reports had to be at least somewhat indicative of truth, you know, faith in at least verisimilitude if not absolute accuracy, um, but Shinobu-san, that means you're-?"

"This is too much standing around for one day. Go, Hanjir!" Cubia held the silver ball between two fingers and snapped them to flip it forward into the air. It knocked the half-eaten cotton candy out of Emi's hand. As it fell to the ground, the ball merged with the candy. It glowed and expended, prompting everyone to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, the food had become a towering Hanjir of pink, sticky strings, tied into a web with all kinds of tangles. Through the gaps, they could see that Emi, Chika, and the fairy-bots were all suspended in the core.

"Emi-chan!" Hideko cried out. "What are you doing!?"

"Hideko-chan!" Emi called back, struggling at the binding around her wrists.

"Oh, come on now." Cubia sighed. "Don't tell me you can't beat this one."

"What is this, some sort of test!?" Rei looked over at Hideko. "Let's go!"

They twisted their Pre-Cubes open, separated their pins, and exchanged pieces.

"Link! Precure Solution!"

Chika watched in awe, momentarily distracted from how she was shivering and squirming at the sugary ropes.

"A secret protector! Cure Cipher!"

"Finding the true meaning! Cure Riddle!"

Cubia looked down her nose at the girls. "Now that's better. Hanjir!"

Bits of the Hanjir started to unravel into drifting ropes. They lunged out at the Precure, who immediately jumped out of the way. Riddle grabbed one rope and swung herself over and down to kick at the tangled mass. Eyes and a mouth appeared in the centre, with the captives still visible between the Hanjir's eyes, and it gave a roar. Cure Riddle let go and jumped back to examine.

Cure Cipher charged forward and shook off the strands. Instead, she lunged at Cubia. The Metamaster general leapt up and on top of the cherry tree.

"You-!" Cipher growled.

"Unimpressive," Cubia chided. "Why don't you go for the Hanjir? You and Lock were accomplished Precure, you know. You should be able to solve a few knots."

""Wait, what?" Cipher stumbled.

Riddle's eyes darted around the cotton candy monster. It was a maze tied together with figure eights, sheet knots, hitches of all kinds, into a tangled mass.

"A big knot made of smaller ones!" she called out to Cipher. "I'm guessing we'll have to unravel it!"

"Precisely." Cubia opened up a portal in the air. "I won't stick around for this, since I've got some business back in the Eight Queens' Lands, but I'm sure you can at least do this one." She stepped through the portal and it closed.

Cipher clenched her fist. "Metamasters…"

"Come on, Cipher!" Riddle struck out at the Hanjir. "Let's get this thing undone!"

Cipher shook her thoughts out of her head. "All right!"

Inside the Hanjir, Emi and Chika were still trying to undo their knots. Emi gave a sigh before speaking first.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

"That's all right," Chika said. "I think it's expected for a magical girl not to tell. We have no idea who any of the Precure in history were. But then, we don't really know much of anything. I just… Most people haven't even heard of Precure, so I was happy just to know that you wanted to hear what I had to say."

"We'll get out of here." Emi picked at her bindings. "Even if I can't transform without another Precure to swap pin halves with, Cipher is an experienced Precure and Riddle never stops until she gets her answer. They're my good friends. I'm sure they'll like you, too."

Chika blushed. "Like me…?"

The Hanjir rocked. They cried out as they fell, only to bobble back when Cure Cipher punched it back into place.

"Cipher!" Emi yelled down.

"Hold on!" Cipher called back. To Riddle and Edel beside her, she lowered her voice and kept her eyes on the hovering Hanjir. "If we get close, it attacks, but when we fight it back, it can hurt them inside. Do you have any ideas?"

Riddle kept watching it as well. "Even if they weren't inside, this thing could rampage all day with how complicated it looks. I'm starting to think the solution isn't to undo it per se. Does your world have a story like the Gordian Knot?"

"I don't think so, I think…" Edel rubbed faers paws together with worry.

Riddle slapped away a creeping tendril of sugar monster. "In the ancient world, a conquering king somewhere far away from here came upon an intricate knot that no one could untie, since it was tied in honour of the king of that place a long time before. He couldn't figure out how to untie it either, but he tried, and some people say that it was because whoever did would go on to rule the continent or at least get a blessing from one of their gods. So either he just pulled out the pole it was around or he cut the knot in half."

"So even though he didn't undo it the right way, it was still undone, I think?" Edel looked up, wide-eyed.

"Which means…" Cipher turned her head to Riddle.

Riddle returned her look. "We get them out of there before we beat the Hanjir, not after. Then we break it."

Back inside the core of the Hanjir, there was shuffling and then a tearing sound. Both girls looked over to where the Candy Cluster was suspended. The little black robot had slipped and tugged out of its bindings and was hovering over to Chika.

"Pop-chan!" Chika brightened. "I knew there was a reason I made you smaller than the others. Can you please help me with this?"

"Freeing." Spinel Cake Pop put one paw on either side of one wrist binding and tugged, Chika helped, struggling along with it, until one of her arms was free.

"Good job!" Emi kept pulling at hers. "I'm still not sure we can fit through the gaps in the Hanjir, but it's a good start to get us out of these ropes."

"Maybe a fairy could," Chika said, pulling her other wrist out. "And try and open the gaps a little more."

"Maybe," Emi thought aloud. "Or… or just get up here."

"To free us?" Chika blinked.

Emi put her head down. "...Senri-san, will you help us, please?"

"Help you, Shinobu-san? Of course!" She kept working at her restraints with Spinel Cake Pop. "We'll get you untied just as soon as I'm out, I promise!"

Emi shook her head. "I mean, Senri-san… Do you want to be a Precure with us?"

On the ground, the candy monster was unraveling more strings and lashing into the ground. Three of the ropes twisted together and reared up over the Cures.

"Catch it!" Cipher called. The candy tentacle slammed down. Cure Cipher and Cure Riddle bent their knees and caught it with their hands above their heads. With a grunt and a heave, they tossed it off to the side. It thumped down and kicked up icy dust.

"We'll get you out of there!" Riddle called up to the group in the Hanjir. "We just need to somehow make the gaps open further!"

"I'm not sure this will work," Cipher said. "But what choice do we have?"

Emi raised her voice to call back down. "Send up Edel!"

"Me, I think?" Edel asked.

"Edel, you can fit! Can you get Cipher to throw you up here? With your bag?"

Cipher opened her mouth to ask why, but at the addition, she paused. "If you need the bag too, then…"

"That's our Emi-chan!" Riddle clasped her hands together. "Don't worry, Cipher. If we give the last Pre-Cube to Senri-san, it's our best chance! I'm sure we can help your sister and your queen with her, too!"

Cipher tensed up. The Hanjir started to move.

"Miu, Queen Bianca… I'll save you and make you proud."

She scooped Edel and the bag up and gave faer a smile. Fae smiled back and nodded up at her.

And thus it was that Cure Cipher threw Edel and faers luggage like a fastball up in between the floss tendrils of a giant cotton candy monster. To her credit, Emi was free and caught them, slamming into the wall but managing to avoid a fairy to the face.

"Emi!" Edel snuggled into her as she hugged the little fairy. Emi let faer climb up on her shoulder before pulling her pink Pre-Cube out of her purse.

"Senri-san? Are you sure about this?" Emi asked. "I just want to make sure I'm not pressuring you."

"I am, but…" Chika looked at the Candy Cluster, who were still helping each other get out of the ropes. She gulped. "I'm not always sure if people are just saying something to be nice or whether they really mean it or even if they were joking. I'd love to be a Precure, Shinobu-san. I want to help you fight whatever evil is threatening our world this time and give you any information you need. I want to be around you, the person who was so nice to me today and whom I liked for a long time even if I never even talked to you. And even if you end up deciding that you don't want to date me, I still want to be your friend! So… if that's not what you want, please tell me. But, um, but if it is, then I'll happily do all of this with you and your friends!"

Slowly, Emi gave a wide smile. She opened the box and let Chika take out the final, green Pre-Cube.

The Hanjir rocked and the two girls and their fairy flew back.

"Hurry up!" came the other Precure's calls from below. "We're trying to hold it back!"

Emi and Chika got up. They looked at each other, nodded, and twisted open their Pre-Cubes.

"Link! Precure Solution!"

Chika drew out a rhombus pin and split it into two green triangles. She exchanged pieces with Emi and they pinned on their mixed and matched pins. Their three-layer bows grew out and the two flew through a colourful space. When Emi's hair grew and went from black to purple, Chika's became a brighter green and fanned out. Her hairband was replaced by a shiny circlet with a rhombus symbol at the top. Her Cure uniform appeared, green and with knee-high boots, opera gloves, and gap sleeves. She opened her eyes, now a bright yellow.

"Creating a new image!" Emi did her usual pose, one arm to the side and the other pumping a fist. "Cure Jigsaw!"

"Differences coming together!" Chika crossed her fists over her chest in an X. "Cure Tangram!"

The light wore off and Chika's mouth dropped open. She looked down and swivelled around, taking in her new uniform.

All eight fairy-bots were free now. They hovered over to Cure Tangram as a flock and looked her over as well. Amethyst Pan Candy lit up. "Uniform visually appealing and conforms to context: Precure Transformation."

Cure Jigsaw giggled. "If Pan-chan is saying you look cute, then I agree!"

Tangram turned bright red. "I, um, ah, th-that is, thank you very much! That is- whoa!" The Hanjir lurched and they had to grab pieces of it not to fall.

Down on the ground, Riddle turned her head up to them. "You can do this later!"

Jigsaw blushed. Tangram blinked and tilted her head until Aquamarine Lollipop flashed a holo-display 'translation' - "More fighting, less flirting!" She then proceeded to cover her face and shake her head vigorously.

"All right!" Cipher called. "If you're ready, let's stop holding back!"

She jumped from the ground and punched the Hanjir in one of its filaments so hard that it tore. It stumbled back and tipped. Riddle and Tangram were already grabbing the floor of where they were to keep from falling. They pulled up and used it to handspring forward, kicking the monster back and further up.

"I've got this! Jigsaw, use your rainbow!" Riddle called up, raising her arms.

"Precure Jigsaw Rainbow!" Jigsaw had her rainbow ribbon shoot up. It smacked through strings and slipped through holes until it twirled around the cherry tree and knotted. "Hang on, everybody!"

Riddle summoned a wind ring. "Precure Riddle Twist!" She sent it flying to the Hanjir. It crashed right into the wind and started to spin, going off balance and wavering around where Jigsaw had anchored it. "Bring it down, Cipher!"

Cipher saw a dangling string. She ran towards it and looked to clothesline it, but instead, she hooked her arm around it, propelled the rest of her body up and around, grabbed it with her legs, and used her momentum to send it crashing down and tug the rest of the monster with it just as Jigsaw's rainbow was pulling her, Tangram, and the fairies both real and artificial out of the Hanjir's core.

"Nice job, everyone!" Riddle clasped her hands. "We'll solve it in no time! Let's test out the theory that we can destroy this one to solve it, okay?"

Jigsaw dissipated her ribbon as she and Tangram got onto a thick branch. "All right! I trust you all on this!"

Tangram took a deep breath. This time, she didn't hesitate. She jumped forward off of the tree and did a front flip, culminating in landing on her feet on the tangle monster. The ground cracked underneath them.

"Good job, I think!" Edel said.

"You're doing great," Cipher added, then "Watch out-!"

The Hanjir growled and started to rise up beneath her. Tangram froze. "This can't-" She slipped. Her foot caught in a hole. The monster slowly kept dragging itself up as she struggled and shook and then just grabbed at anything, at air, at the monster itself…

At the small figure suddenly in front of her.

The three Precure, all running up to help, stopped.

Cure Tangram's breathing slowed. She blinked a few times to find Aquamarine Lollipop in her arms. Carefully, she slipped one of her gloves off and stroked it.

"It's dangerous," she said.

"We help you, Chika," it chirped back. "Chika's friends also assisting."

Tangram looked around. Cure Jigsaw was restraining the Hanjir with a Jigsaw Rainbow. Cipher was raining down light shots with Cipher Encrypt to keep it down. Riddle was climbing the Hanjir to drag it down with them.

She grabbed the candy around her ankle and ripped it apart.

"Cure Tangram!" Jigsaw brightened. "Great job!"

"We've almost got it!" Cipher punched the Hanjir so hard that it rippled.

This time, Tangram didn't fall. She clapped her hands, one still uncovered, and brushed them apart.

"Precure Tangram Snap!"

A shockwave rippled and echoed through the whole Hanjir she was standing on. It cried out and writhed, shaking and shrinking as it started to detangle. The other three Precure looked at each other and attacked in unison.

"Precure Cipher Encrypt!"

"Precure Jigsaw Rainbow!"

"Precure Riddle Twist!"

With the four attacks, the Hanjir's knots ripped apart piece by piece, straight through the middle. It glowed and dissipated under the four Cures, who landed on their feet next to the cotton candy and a black Clue Key.

Tangram looked sadly at the cotton candy in the dirt and ice. "...I don't think I want to eat that anymore."

"Good job in the fight, Tangram." Jigsaw gave a sweet smile. "You really work hard at this."

Tangram put her ungloved hand to her red face. "Well, ah, um, th-that is, thank you for your platitudes, I mean…"

"It was awesome!" Riddle squealed. "We all figured it out! And we got another Clue Key, too!"

Cipher looked at the others and then at Tangram. She nodded. "You did do a great job. Welcome. We're glad to have you."

"Th-thank you!" Tangram squeaked and shrank into herself. The Candy Cluster all started to gather around her.

Edel scratched behind faers ear. "Do we get to go party now, I think?"

"I do like the festival so far," Cipher admitted. "Can we get some more takoyaki?"

The Candy Cluster conversed with Tangram with signs for a bit. She stood up and relaxed.

"Okay! It's nice to meet all of you!"

* * *

><p>Tetya was hanging upside down from her knees off a railing, rattling names off to herself.<p>

"Cure Sunflower… probably taken. Cure Wasp! Cure Egg. Cure Pencil?"

"What are you doing?" Stile groaned. "Is 'Cure Lock' really that hard to say?"

"Gak!" Tetya stiffened. She pulled herself upright and pouted. "It's easy to say, but it's boring and stupid. What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Cubia just got back from some mission. Lady Cryptalla wants us all in the throne room again. Something about an invasion."

"But we're not _actually_-"

"New plan, remember?" He walked past her. "Anyway, don't want you to be late. You know how she gets these days."

"Yeah, yeah." Tetya rolled her eyes and slid off the railing. "I guess thinking of names for Cure Rubber Bath Duck can wait."

* * *

><p>Chika: This occasion calls for…<p>

Everyone: Puzzle Hunt Comment Corner! (Edel: I think!)

Tetya: We showed today that we're totally the heroes of this story. The Precure are just the boring side characters.

Rei: What fanfic were you reading? You Metamasters never make sense!

Emi: This chapter wasn't supposed to be so long. I suppose old habits die hard, right?

Hideko: We'll have a lot more team-building in the next episode!

Edel: We'll try not to take so long getting it out, too, I think!

Cubia: See you all next time.


	5. The Red Room! Four Bond Together!

"A secret protector! Cure Cipher!"

"Creating a new image! Cure Jigsaw!"

"Finding the true meaning! Cure Riddle!"

"Differences coming together! Cure Tangram!"

The four magical girls did their poses. "We are Precure!"

Stile sat on the roof of the house they were facing with his legs dangling over the peak. "Oh, there you are. Geez, I was wondering where I was gonna find you."

Cure Cipher stepped forward and pointed up at him. "We're the ones who have been searching for you! You've been on the news all day, just appearing in abandoned buildings and houses for sale and jumping around rooftops. What's the point of making everyone think every building in town is haunted?"

"What's the point in asking a Metamaster the point of anything? You know we're not gonna tell you." Stile rolled his eyes. "But I'll give you a freebie. It was to try and get you four out here."

"I knew it!" Riddle took a step ahead as well. "Your trap's not going to work, though. We can beat you any day!"

"Be careful, I think!" Edel called from the sidelines, hiding in a bush with Aquamarine Lollipop and Spinel Cake Pop.

Cure Riddle and Cure Cipher ran forward at the same time. One jumped before the other, aiming to lunge at Stile. They crashed into each other.

"Ngh!"

"Cipher! Riddle!" Awkwardly hanging back, Jigsaw gasped at the forward wave's collision. She reached forward and gathered light in her hand. "Precure Jigsaw Rai-"

"Precure Tangram Snap!" Tangram next to her had had the same idea. She brushed her hands together and sent a shockwave through everyone but her. Stile was knocked off the house, but he flipped forward and landed on his feet, while Jigsaw was taken out and Cipher and Riddle fell over again just as they were getting up.

"Gk!"

"Jigsaw!" Tangram paled. "Everyone! I'm, I'm sorry, really!"

Jigsaw grimaced as she dragged herself up. "It was my mistake."

Stile stretched his arms out and yawned. "Man, you guys suck. I almost feel bad for you." He turned around, plucked a silver ball out of his sleeve, and threw it at the house. "Go, Hanjir!"

The house absorbed the ball and gave off light as it twisted and grew a face. It growled and leaned forward with a roar.

"Watch o-" Cure Cipher was cut off. The house Hanjir opened its front door mouth and breathed in. A wind sucked her in, then Riddle, then Jigsaw and Tangram, tumbling into the house.

"Everyone!" The fairies ran forward to the four Precure, only to be sucked up as well. The door shut behind them.

* * *

><p>Puzzle Hunt Precure<p>

Episode 5: "The Red Room! Four Bond Together!"

* * *

><p>The four of them landed with a thud on an old, itchy carpet. Cure Tangram was the first to look up at the blank, red ceiling.<p>

"What is this place?" She kept her eyes on the ceiling as she stood up. "Are we inside a Hanjir?"

"It looks like it." Cure Riddle plucked herself up and rubbed her sore side before holding out her hands to help Jigsaw and Cipher to their feet. "Look around."

The room was small, but populated with a few things. One side of the room was just a blank wall, and the next wall was beside a plain bed. On the wall to the right of that was a draped window. The last side had a chest of drawers sitting and a combination-locked box atop it. A black door with a shiny white doorknob stood next to it.

"A room…" Cure Jigsaw bit her lip. "Do you think it's a room escape game? Those were never my favourites."

"Probably. It is a puzzle." Riddle wobbled on her thin heel before righting herself and making her way over to the chest. "Come on, everybody. Let's start looking around. Pick up anything you can find."

As the others got up, Cure Cipher looked at them all, shook her head, and sunk to sit on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

"Do you think we can?"

Tangram's ears perked up. She looked over from checking the walls. "Cipher?"

Cipher paused. "Never mind. Let's just look for things. Riddle, you said you knew this puzzle. Will anything help?"

"Anything at all, usually." Riddle pushed the curtain open and stepped back.

A glowing Hanjir face snarled at them from where the window should be.

Instinctively, Cipher sprung from the bed, lunged forward, and punched the wall's face hard enough to leave deep cracks. The room shook, Jigsaw keeping her balance, Tangram hitting the floor with her robots following, Edel rolling across the carpet, and Riddle wobbling and grabbing hold of the curtain. The tug knocked something loose from atop the curtain. It tumbled and bounced to the floor.

"Maybe you should warn us before you do that, I think…" Edel sat up, spiral-eyed and woozy.

"I'm sorry." Cure Cipher sighed and picked faer up. "I wanted to weaken the Hanjir to help get us out."

"I." Tangram gulped and sat up, not looking at Cipher, though Aquamarine Lollipop was doing a good job of that already while Tangram reached for Spinel Cake Pop to pet. "I don't, um, I don't do well with surprises, really, or sudden changes, so, if it's okay, um, please - please warn me first. I'm sorry, that's probably a bad quality in a Precure."

Cipher's face fell. She looked at Tangram out of habit, but turned her eyes away when Tangram flinched. Right. Chika wasn't good with eye contact, either. Cipher shook her head.

"It's okay. I'm not exactly the best Precure out there. I can't judge anyone."

Edel blinked. "But aren't Queen Bianca's Precure the best, I think? You defended our land much better than the rumours I heard about other lands, I think…"

"Part of that was propaganda," Cipher admitted. "That we were the best, I mean. People said that so our country would look better and Queen Bianca would be safe. We were good, probably, but… Miu carried the team. Even the Metamasters knew that. You've seen me. All I was ever good for was fighting."

Cure Jigsaw frowned. "I guess we haven't worked together all that well all the time, but we've made it this far, haven't we?"

"Look," Tangram said.

The others stopped. Cure Tangram crawled over to the fallen item, picked it up, and stood up to hold it up. A small, curved piece of some shiny, plastic-like material, cutting off at the edges with a groove on one side and a protrusion on the other.

"It fell off the curtain bar when Cipher and Riddle knocked it loose." She kept her eyes focused on it. "Um, everyone. Is this what we should be looking for?"

"Item shows material similarities to supernatural items, with comparison to footage of Hanjir, Pre-Cubes and contents, and rings appearing throughout Metamaster uniform," Spinel Cake Pop offered."

"That's our lead!" Riddle clasped Tangram's hands and sparkled. Tangram turned bright red. So, a few paces back, did Jigsaw. Riddle let go and coughed. "Sorry."

Jigsaw blinked a few times and then giggled.

"All right! Let's look for more things like that!" She started shaking out the bedsheets.

Cipher breathed in and out. Finally, she nodded and moved to look behind the chest of drawers.

Tangram hugged her robot fairies. With a shiver, she quickly shut the curtain on the Hanjir face staring at her.

"That's going to unnerve me for a week."

* * *

><p>There was a piece under the pillow and another one inside the pillowcase, one wedged behind the drawers, one under the bed, and one balancing atop the light fixture on the ceiling. When the Precure snapped them all together, the puzzle made a ring shape before glowing and morphing into a small white Clue Key. It dropped to the carpet.<p>

"It's like a miniature Hanjir, but inert rather than animate and hostile." Cure Tangram knelt and picked up the key, turning it around in her gloved hands. She shuddered a little and Aquamarine Lollipop went to snuggle her.

"A Hanjir inside a Hanjir?" Riddle's eyes lit up. "This raises so many more questions! If we learn how they work, that could expose all kinds of things about the Metamasters! Right, Cipher?"

Cipher pulled out a large key ring filled with black and white regular-sized Clue Keys. There must have been almost thirty. Eyes fixed on it, she nodded.

"We don't even know what the Clue Keys really do. All we do is collect them after we beat a Hanjir, and we only have the Metamasters' word that they're important. Do you have any idea why that one's smaller than the other ones?"

"Probably because it wasn't really a Hanjir, right?" Riddle asked.

"Wait," Cure Jigsaw cut in. All eyes went on the pink Cure as she continued. "Do you think it fits the door?"

"We could try." Riddle got up and walked over to the door. After fiddling and jamming with the key, she turned back and shook her head. "No. Is there anything else it could fit into?"

"The drawers, I think," Edel suggested. "I tried opening them and one was locked, so that might be it, I think!"

"Perfect, Edel!" Riddle beamed, sparkles coming off her.

"That's her mystery face," Jigsaw giggled. "Hideko-chan - ah, Riddle. Could you try opening it, since you've got the key?"

"Absolutely!" Riddle crossed over to the dresser and knelt down. She slid the key easily into the lock and turned it. Right then, both lock and key disappeared in light. The drawer popped open.

All four Precure gathered around the open drawer. Inside lay nothing but a small, black bound book. The top corner of a grainy photograph stuck out from between the pages. All four Precure immediately reached for it. As soon as their hands collided and brushed together, they stopped, looked at each other, and pulled back.

"Ah…" Jigsaw took a deep breath and smiled at everyone. "I guess we still need to work on that, don't we?"

Tangram, who had shrunk back into herself, relaxed and nodded.

"The book does look fascinating…" Riddle clasped her hands together. "I bet it's got all the Metamasters' secrets! The purpose of the Clue Keys! Who their leader really is! You said she always wears a mask, right, Cipher?"

"She does," Cipher said. "A mask, gloves, a long dress. You can't even hear her voice clearly. It's like Cryptalla's hiding something. Or she wants to be as much of a puzzle as the Hanjir are."

"Why don't you open the book, Cipher?" Jigsaw asked. "You're our leader."

"Leader?" A slight blush darkened Cipher's face. "I'm just-"

"You're a good leader, I think," Edel said. "You've helped everyone, I think."

Cipher took a deep breath. She reached in alone this time and pulled out the book. With the others crowding around to look, she pulled out the photo first.

Aged-looking (or maybe that was how photography was in their world), the photo depicted a beautiful woman with dark skin, high-piled hair, and dangling black earrings, wearing a sweeping black gown and a shiny circlet that spiked out like the queen chess piece. She was smiling slightly and flanked by two men, one on each side. Further back, the grains on the photograph such that their faces couldn't be made out, were a tall young woman in blue and a girl more the four Precure's age in green.

"Wow!" Riddle nearly squealed. "This is huge! Who's that woman in the centre? I'll bet she's important!"

Cipher studied the photo. "I've only seen her once, but I think that's Queen Shyama. She visited Queen Bianca a few weeks before I ended up in your world. Those two beside her must be her consorts."

"She's married to two people?" Jigsaw tilted her head. "That's not too common, is it?"

"It's not?" Cipher blinked. "It happens all the time in the Eight Queens' Lands."

"Those two in the background must be her Precure. Did you meet them?" Tangram pointed at the photo.

"I didn't get to meet them, no," Cipher said. "They must have been either where the queen was staying or busy protecting their land. The meeting was supposed to negotiate giving the three Pre-Cubes to Queen Shyama. She's been right on the front lines of the Metamaster invasion, so she needed reinforcements."

"And instead, we got them," Riddle mused.

"The implications are provoking a little trepidation, aren't they?" Tangram looked at her robot fairies and then nearby Cipher, avoiding her eyes.

"...Yes." Cipher sighed. "The negotiations a few weeks later were attacked by Cryptalla before anyone but us could get there. So I didn't seen Queen Shyama and her Precure there, either. I barely saw the queen herself the first time. The actual meeting was so secretive that it was just Queen Shyama and Queen Bianca."

An awkward pause followed. Finally, Cure Riddle leaned in. "What else is in the book?"

Cipher leafed through it. "Well, there's a map on this page… Is it this house?"

The others looked. It was a mazelike structure, and as Cipher paged forward, more floors appeared - there must have been at least four or five, each covered by multiple pages.

"I don't really think so," Tangram said. She blushed and shrank back a little. "I mean, ah, multiple-room escape games do exist, some of them are almost legendary, at least that's what I've heard, but on the other hand, if he turned the whole house into a maze and wanted us to solve that, then why have we been in this room so long? I think the room itself is the only puzzle."

"Supporting Chika-chan's hypothesis, for a trap of that scale, a map wouldn't be provided in the first room," Spinel Cake Pop added.

"I didn't say that part?" Tangram fidgeted and petted Spinel Cake Pop. "Thank you, Spinel-chan."

Jigsaw smiled. "Then that must be important in some other way. It's a clue, so we should keep it! Do any of you have any ideas?"

"It looks like a castle… Maybe it's Cryptalla's lair!" Riddle pulled her own notebook and pen out of nowhere and scribbled ideas down furiously. Tangram's robots started recording them and projected ever-growing holographic text displays.

"What's on the next page, I think?" Edel asked.

Cipher wondered, not for the first time, how faer sentence ender was meant to work with a question, but she turned the page. The next page wasn't a map or a wedged-in photo. All there was on the page consisted of a few lines of handwritten text.

_We were already here._

_You need us._

_Eight Queens and Precure,_

_your enemy is yourselves._

"That… sounds startlingly ominous," Tangram said.

"What does it even mean?" Jigsaw asked. "How do we need the Metamasters?"

Riddle wrote furiously. "I don't know, but let's think! We've got a photo of a queen and her detail, a bunch of maps that are probably where the Metamasters are based out of, and then this warning. All of it must be tied together. Everything probably goes back to the Metamasters' base!"

"But then Queen Shyama's in this book because…" Cipher went silent.

"Huh?" Riddle and Tangram said.

Jigsaw paled. "Oh, no." She reached over and laid a hand on Cipher's shoulder. "She and her Precure must have been defeated and captured, right?"

Slowly, Cipher breathed in and nodded. "That has to be it. It's been so long since Edel and I ended up in your world. Queen Shyama never got her Pre-Cubes. Queen Bianca has no Precure at all now, and Miu, who even knows where she's gone?"

"Cipher…"

"Don't worry."

Everyone looked at Riddle. She shut her notebook and gave an emphatic nod.

"They might be captives in the Metamasters' castle, and I agree that we need to follow that lead. It's the best one we have. But we're Precure. I know you said - we all said, actually, that we aren't very good Precure. Even if we're not, though, we're still uncovering information, we're solving Hanjir, and we're beating back the Metamasters every time they show up. I'd stake my honour as a future detective that we're going to solve everything!"

Cipher gripped the edges of the book more tightly. "But it's like we all said earlier. We don't even know how to work together. You three are new, and I only ever stuck to the fighting while Miu solved the puzzles. We're lucky we've lasted this long."

Tangram clapped her hands together once, like she was using Tangram Snap. The other three, plus fairies (real and constructed), looked at her.

"That just means we need to understand each other," she said.

"Understand?" Cipher's eyebrows raised.

"I'm not very good at understanding other people," Tangram continued, "and they're not very good at understanding me, so it's sort of a mire of mutual disadvantage. But throughout history, at least with scarce collected interviews with witnesses and recordings of mid-battle speeches, something has been a constant that's also reflected in our own unexampled Precure team, and, um, that's that the relationships are strong. Precure who are close friends, who are siblings, who are in love, they all seem to be very common from expert studies and the honest words we get."

* * *

><p>Right. The day they arrived at Queen Bianca's castle, when they were walking down to the courtyard. Rei could remember her sister smiling at her, their fairy assuring them.<p>

"Precure who fit together work best," Nono had said.

Precure who fit together.

* * *

><p>Cipher blinked. "You're right. That is common, at least in the Eight Queens' Lands. I didn't know any other Precure personally, but from what I heard, other queens' Precure were usually closely related like that. Queen Shyama's apparently didn't get along, but even they were cousins or something, I heard once."<p>

"Really?" Tangram brightened. "So that's true! What we need to do is try to understand how we work together!"

Riddle nodded. "I like all of you. Jigsaw, you're my best friend. You and Cipher are living together and I guess you and Tangram are sort of a thing?"

Jigsaw tilted her head. "Sort of? I thought we were a thing."

Tangram blinked. "There's such a thing as 'sort of' a thing?"

"Societal restraints on expression of emotion produce unnecessary hurdles and classifications," Aquamarine Lollipop helpfully offered.

Jigsaw giggled. "Big words and that kind of view - I know for sure that Chika programmed you!"

Tangram's face heated up. "That's the first time you haven't called me Senri-san or Tangram."

Riddle smiled and put her hand on Cipher's other shoulder, the one that Jigsaw didn't have her own hand on. "See? We all like each other. And if we start getting into a comfortable pattern, we'll do better and not crash into each other anymore. We're all good at different things, right? Just like you and your sister!"

Cipher thought. "I'm good at fighting, and so are all of you, but your moves and styles are all different. I have the experience of a Precure and I know what the Eight Queens' Lands were like. Jigsaw is really smart and can solve puzzles with everything in front of her, Riddle is good with uncovering things you don't see right off, and Tangram comes in when we're stuck and gives a perspective we never thought of. Does that make sense?"

"That sounds perfect, I think!" Edel offered. "It's what I think whenever I see you all, I think!"

Slowly, Cipher shut the book. She looked at everyone.

"I miss my sister. I miss being Puzzle Hunt Precure with her. I miss home and everything about it, the way we got around town, the bakeries with cinnamon pastries in the shape of Queen Bianca's seal, the clothes that looked more familiar. Coming to your world was like going to a different time. But… I like this world, too. And I like you. You've all been so nice when everyone else was avoiding me. Even Emi's family took me in and let me stay with them and work in their shop.

Jigsaw smiled. "It might be scary, but we can work this out if we think about it. I might not know what I want to do with my life, and that scares me, but I know we need to do this. Fight the Metamasters, solve the puzzles, get to the bottom of the mystery, and do it all together. That fits all of us perfectly!"

"Count me in for sure!" Riddle gave a V-sign. "This whole mystery is exactly my thing, and more importantly, I want to help. It's the right thing to do for all of you and everyone else."

Tangram hesitated and moved over behind Cipher to be closer to the circle instead of on the outside. "I… ah, I have a lot of trouble understanding people or getting them to understand me, and I'm sort of shy. But I know we can all do this, so if everyone else will try, so will I."

Edel hopped into Cipher's lap and snuggled her. "I believe in everyone, I think!"

"Analysis uncovers high likelihood of success," Aquamarine Lollipop said.

"You are all Precure, and you'll do well!" Spinel Cake Pop added.

Cipher hesitated. She pocketed the book and turned her head up and around to see everyone.

"You're all right. We can do this. Maybe… we can even live up to the name of Queen Bianca's Precure again."

"That's great!" Riddle and Jigsaw hugged her at once. Tangram blinked and held back a second, her robots nodded in their direction, and she hugged the group as well.

"Now we just need to get out of here…" Jigsaw paused. "Hey, what's that back there?"

Riddle squinted and looked forward. "Huh? Behind the drawer? There's something written back there. It's probably another clue!"

"I'll pull out the drawer," Cipher said. "Is that okay?"

The others gave nods and hums of agreement, let go of her, and stood up a few paces away. Tangram backed up furthest and covered her ears.

Cipher put one hand on top of the drawer chest and, with the strength of a Precure, flung out the drawer. It flew across the room and embedded itself into the empty wall with a crack and crumble. The Hanjir bellowed from behind the curtain at the next wall over.

"That still disturbs me!" Tangram squeaked.

"We'll be out soon," Jigsaw reassured her. "Cipher, what does it say?"

Cipher stuck her head into the empty space to read. "It's a code," she called back. "2-5-2-2-5. Five digits. Does that fit the box on top of this thing?"

Spinel Cake Pop flew over to the box. "Room for five digits," it chirped. "Enter code?"

Cure Tangram took a deep breath. "...Try it, Cake-chan!"

"Affirmative." Following its master, the little robot fairy put in the combination. As Cipher pulled her head out of the empty dresser drawer slot, the lock box popped open. Inside was a small black Clue Key, just like the white one they'd unlocked the drawer with.

"I hope that's the end of it," Riddle said. "A lot of room-escape games have really long chains of puzzles."

"Let's try it." Jigsaw reached her hand out. "We never know until we try, right?"

Cipher picked up the key and handed it to her. "Let's get out of here."

They approached the door.

* * *

><p>Stile groaned.<p>

The Precure had been in there forever. How long was this going to take? No way that one was too hard for them. Sure, maybe he'd been a little harsh by giving them a thinking-heavy, battle-light puzzle when Cure Lock was still laid up in bed in their castle behind Lady Cryptalla's back, but Cure Cipher had three partners now. Besides, this was an easy game. He remembered playing seek-and-find games all the time, back in the day. Surely the people in Queen Bianca's land and whatever this weird, freezing cold world was played them too.

(Okay, maybe he was being unfair to call it freezing cold when the frost was gone and buds were starting to appear on the trees, but come on. He'd never even seen frost before. He had no idea how Tetya and Cubia managed not to come back as ice cubes whenever they'd fought the Precure.)

Still, floating around got boring, and he could only bounce a ball off a paddle for so long. It was worse than the news reporters showed up. He'd had to chase them off with a Hanjir, but he felt bad just endangering them without anyone to protect them, so he just had the house run around in a circle until they backed off. He was still pretty sure that flying drone in the air that appeared afterwards was some kind of news camera, but he felt too lazy to do anything but make faces at it every so often.

"Geez," he muttered to himself. "What's Lady Cryptalla even thinking, sending us here? I thought she wanted the Pre-Cubes out of the way, not to send us trying to attack some other world. And then she says we're invading? That's got nothing to do with what we're supposed to be doing in the Eight Queens' Lands. The first plan was better. Then we'd at least have more people."

Just as he said that, the Hanjir glowed.

"Now what?" Stile's head popped up.

The door opened. Out launched four Precure, one real fairy, two robotic health companion fairy simulacra, and a thrown dresser drawer.

"Whoa!" Stile barely dodged the drawer and moved right into the path of a punch from Cipher that winded him. He dropped to the ground and gasped for breath.

"Let's go, everybody!" Cipher called out. She hid half her face and then swept her arm out. "A secret protector! Cure Cipher!"

"Creating a new image! Cure Jigsaw!"

"Finding the true meaning! Cure Riddle!"

"Differences coming together! Cure Tangram!"

Stile got up to his feet. "You got out?"

The four Precure posed in unison, light flashing behind them.

"Bringing your problem to its solution! Puzzle Hunt Precure!"

The Hanjir roared. The four Precure stared it down.

"Let's go!" Cipher turned her head to her purple-haired pink compatriot. "Jigsaw, contain it!"

"Okay!" Jigsaw's hair blew out dramatically as she reached out and created light in her hand. "Precure Jigsaw Rainbow!"

The light became a rainbow chain and wrapped around the house. Jigsaw dug in her heels and held on as it strained.

"Go! Riddle!" she called.

Riddle ran up to the house and did a front flip, kicking it to land. As the house staggered, she bounced off it and twirled in the air, the wind picking up around her.

"Precure Riddle Twist!"

A wind ring moved from around her and whipped around the Hanjir, wobbling it around as Jigsaw kept hold of the chain. The Hanjir staggered and slowed.

"We've got it in one place!" Riddle said. "Tangram, you're up!"

"Wha- me?" Tangram shook off the startle and sprung from the ground up into the air. She landed square on the rooftop, not even dislodging her circlet, and clapped her hands together enough to brush them past each other.

"Precure Tangram Snap!"

The resulting shockwave shook the house to its core. The face contorted and groaned as it started to crumble and glow.

Tangram leapt off the roof and grabbed the edge of the house, slamming the whole trapped Hanjir to the ground just as Jigsaw let her chain go.

"Cipher!"

Cipher shot out her hands. They were surrounded with rings of light displaying old writing.

"Precure Cipher Encrypt!"

The rings of light siphoned into beams that shot from her hands. They impacted the Hanjir right in its face. It made one last growl before becoming enveloped in light and shrinking until it popped into nothing. The original house appeared in its place and a full-sized white Clue Key floated down into Cure Cipher's hand.

She grabbed it and turned back to Stile with blue flames in her eyes.

"Whoa. Uh." Stile backed away. "That was kind of overkill. I guess you got out?"

"Don't give me that!" Cipher said. "You're our enemy, aren't you?"

"Technically, but…"

"Technically again?" Riddle took a few steps forward to join her. "You're hiding something. All of you are."

Just like that, Stile's smirk came back. "We've always been hiding something. Hold us off, get your Clue Keys, and maybe you'll find out what!"

"Are you afraid to say it?" Tangram stepped in.

"What?" Stile made a face. "Afraid? This is how things are! It's a way better alternative than just sitting there waiting for someone to move! Back then, _everyone_ was afraid!"

Jigsaw closed the circle. "Back when?"

Stile's eyes just widened.

Cipher stared him on. "Be completely honest for once instead of hiding behind monsters and teasing hints you don't expect us to get. Tell me! Where are you keeping Queen Bianca?"

"What?" His voice cracked in surprise. "Queen Bianca?"

"Stile!"

All heads turned to a dark portal in the sky. Tetya tumbled out and dropped to the ground, her green buckled Mary Janes clicking on the pavement.

"Tetya!" Stile wiped his forehead. "What's going on?"

"It's a total emergency!" Tetya waved her arms around. "Cubia's back from her mission in Queen Gri's land, we have another big meeting in fifteen minutes, and you-know-who is gone!"

"You-know-who?" Riddle's mind was already filling with hypotheses.

"Ugh, obviously you Precure wouldn't get it!" Tetya marched over and grabbed Stile's arm. "Come on! Cure Sticky Note or Cure Hornet or Cure Daisy or whoever just disappeared from her room, and if Lady Cryptalla finds out about her, we're so dead!"

Stile's face went grey. He quickly looked at the Precure's stunned and thinking faces, grimaced, and ran for the portal before any of them could move.

"Hey, wait!" Tetya ran after. "We don't even know where Cure Chip-At-The-Bottom-Of-The-Bag went!"

The four Cures ran after, but the portal closed before any of them could reach it.

"Ugh!" Cipher bit back more and clenched her fist. She started to shake.

"We were close…" Jigsaw started to reach a hand out.

Cipher deflated, her rage draining out. She detransformed and sunk to the pavement.

"We were almost there."

The other three looked at each other, detransformed, and kneeled beside her again.

"We'll find her," Emi said. "And your sister. Just like we all agreed."

"We're a lot closer now than we were before!" Hideko gave a bright smile. "If we keep going like this, they definitely won't pass us by next time!"

"And we defeated the Hanjir, we know the Clue Keys are important to whatever they're hiding from us, and we know a lot more about what we have yet to find out," Chika added.

Rei sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I guess. ...I just miss Miu. She was always there and always knew what to do. And Queen Bianca was so closed off. She never really opened up to anyone, even us. It's probably because the Eight Queens' Lands were so tense."

The others were silent for a minute. Slowly, cautiously, they all leaned into Rei and one another.

"...Thank you." Rei sighed. "You're all great. I don't know what I'd do without any of you."

"We're here for you," Chika offered. "No matter what!"

"You're important to us," Emi added.

"And we're going to help!" Hideko finished. "We've done a lot today. Why don't we rest? I'm getting pretty hungry, and the Arrow Ring should still be open!"

Edel clapped. "I'd like some food, too, please, I think!"

Rei breathed in the warming spring air. She found her feet and pushed herself up to stand.

"All right. It's going to be better from here."

As they walked away, the news drone from earlier flew off back to the station.

* * *

><p>Edel: Now it's time for…<p>

Everyone: Puzzle Hunt Comment Corner! (Edel: I think.)

Tetya: I can't believe we just LOST a Precure who's been unconscious for ages!

Stile: You were the one watching her…

Rei: We promised team-building this episode, and that ended up being most of what we did.

Hideko: On top of that, we learned a lot about the mystery! Though it's not exactly coming together yet.

Chika: Maybe the readers can figure out which parts don't fit to see the right way to look at the solution!

Emi: See you all next time!


End file.
